The blue-chip DAX Index concluded Thursday's trading session with a notable increase of 1.37%, largely driven by Siemens ($SIE), which led the market rally following its impressive fiscal results for 2024. The renowned German technology conglomerate saw its shares climb by 4.91% after reporting a significant year-over-year rise in both attributable profit and revenue for the year ending September 30, bolstered by robust demand across its electrification, transportation, and industrial software divisions.
For fiscal 2025, Siemens forecasts a sustainable revenue growth of 3% to 7%. RBC Capital Markets expressed a positive outlook, stating, 'Overall a solid set of results and given wider macro uncertainty, we would expect the results to be generally well received.' Analysts reiterated their outperform rating on Siemens, highlighting that 'Siemens' continuing business is a through-cycle outperformed versus the sector in terms of growth and resilience.' Conversely, Merck KGaA ($MRK.DE) indicated that its projected net sales will land in the lower half of its anticipated range of 20.7 billion to 22.1 billion euros, leading to a decline in its shares by 3.37% at the close of trading.
From an economic perspective, tomorrow will see the release of the German wholesale price index, with expectations for a 0.1% month-over-month increase, contrasting with a prior decrease of 0.3%. For the broader eurozone, Eurostat's second estimate reported a 0.4% quarterly economic growth in the third quarter, up from the previous 0.2% expansion observed.
ING pointed out potential challenges ahead, stating, 'Looking ahead, with the results of the US election, risks to the eurozone growth outlook have clearly shifted to the downside; both in the short and longer run, posing an even more complicated challenge for the ECB.' They concluded, 'If the ECB's gut feeling doesn't change, given this stagflationary scenario and the additional downward pressure on growth from US policies, the question for the December meeting is no longer if the ECB will cut rates again, but whether the cut will be by 25bp or 50bp.'.