German stocks finished the trading day in negative territory on Tuesday, with the benchmark DAX closing down 0.18% as selling in Construction, Pharmaceuticals & Healthcare and Technology names outweighed gains elsewhere.
At the final bell in Frankfurt, the DAX ended the session lower by 0.18%. Mid-cap and tech-focused gauges underperformed, with the MDAX slipping 0.94% and the TecDAX retreating 1.41%.
Top performers on the DAX
- Merck KGaA (ETR:MRCG) led the DAX risers, gaining 2.11% or 2.30 points to close at 111.45.
- Commerzbank AG O.N. (ETR:CBKG) added 2.10% or 0.73 points, ending the day at 35.48.
- RWE AG ST O.N. (ETR:RWEG) climbed 1.32% or 0.80 to finish at 61.54.
Lagging names on the DAX
- Bayer AG NA (ETR:BAYGN) posted the steepest decline on the index, falling 4.59% or 1.76 points to 36.62 at the close.
- Zalando SE (ETR:ZALG) was down 3.02% or 0.66 points to 21.18.
- Siemens Energy AG (ETR:ENR1n) lost 2.50% or 4.44 points to settle at 172.98.
MDAX movers
- TKMS GmbH (ETR:TKMS) topped the MDAX gainers, rising 4.88% to 83.90.
- flatexDEGIRO AG (ETR:FTKn) added 3.13% to close at 32.32.
- Jungheinrich AG O.N.VZO (ETR:JUNG_p) advanced 2.57% to 25.54.
- On the downside, RENK Group AG (ETR:R3NK) fell 3.04% to 53.26, Nemetschek AG O.N. (ETR:NEKG) lost 2.81% to 62.30 and Aumovio Se (ETR:AMV0n) declined 2.79% to 36.55.
TecDAX movers
- SMA Solar Technology AG (ETR:S92G) was the top TecDAX performer, up 3.28% to 51.90.
- Cancom SE O.N. (ETR:COKG) gained 1.22% to 24.80.
- IONOS Group SE (ETR:IOSn) rose 0.85% to 26.24.
- Conversely, Evotec AG O.N. (ETR:EVTG) fell 3.11% to 5.14, Jenoptik AG (ETR:JENGn) dropped 2.96% to 31.46, and Nemetschek AG O.N. (ETR:NEKG) was down 2.81% to 62.30.
Market breadth on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange leaned negative, with 346 stocks declining versus 263 advancing, while 38 shares finished unchanged.
Notably, shares of RWE AG ST O.N. (ETR:RWEG) reached a five-year high during the session, rising 1.32% or 0.80 to close at 61.54.
The DAX volatility index, a gauge of implied volatility in DAX options, increased 1.72% to 23.69 by the close.
Commodities and energy
Precious metals and oil moved in opposite directions. Gold Futures for June delivery fell 2.00% or 93.89 to $4,599.81 a troy ounce. In energy markets, crude oil for June delivery rose 3.64% or 3.51 to $99.88 a barrel, while the July Brent oil contract increased 2.51% or 2.55 to $104.24 a barrel.
Currencies and dollar index
In foreign exchange trading, EUR/USD was effectively unchanged, moving 0.07% to 1.17, while EUR/GBP was unchanged by 0.12% to 0.87. The US Dollar Index Futures ticked up 0.11% to 98.43.
This session reflected selective strength among industrial and utility names, offset by notable weakness in pharmaceuticals, retail-related names and selected technology stocks. Volatility in options edged higher as commodity prices diverged, with oil firming and gold retreating.