German shares staged a recovery on Wednesday, with the blue-chip DAX index rising by 0.99% at closing, amid growth in Germany's trade surplus. Provisional data from Germany's Federal Statistical Office revealed that the country's calendar and seasonally adjusted trade surplus surged in August to €22.5 billion, up from €16.9 billion in the previous month.
This increase was driven by a rise in exports, which climbed month-over-month to €131.9 billion, while imports saw a decline to €109.4 billion. However, challenges remain in Germany's chemical industry as suggested by the ifo Institute, which reported a further deterioration in the business climate index for this sector in September.
The index dropped sharply to -13.6 points, down from -6.1 in the previous month. Anna Wolf from the ifo Institute commented, "Both economic and structural factors are weighing on companies in the chemical industry. In addition, companies are grappling with the energy transition, complicated bureaucracy, and rising labor costs.
Sentiment in the German chemical industry is not good." On the corporate front, Deutsche Bank ($DBK) has been seeking counsel from Morgan Stanley and other external advisers, contemplating various scenarios stemming from Italian banking group UniCredit's potential takeover of Commerzbank ($CBK). Sources close to the matter indicated that Deutsche Bank prefers to remain uninvolved while it navigates preparations.
At market closing, German lenders Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank saw their shares increase by 1.21% and decrease by 0.27%, respectively..