The last few trading days were increasingly dominated by the publication of new US jobs data and the ongoing reporting season in Frankfurt am Main.
This afternoon, investors will be focusing in particular on US inflation data, which could provide monetary policy impetus.
DAX
Middle East conflict as a potential sword of Damocles for the markets
Geopolitical developments in the Middle East conflict were also a topic of discussion this week. Following a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump reportedly spoke out in favor of continuing nuclear negotiations with Iran.
US retail sales stagnate before the turn of the year - NFPs more robust than expected
US retail sales caused a stir on Tuesday. US retail sales stagnated before the turn of the year. An increase of 0.4% (compared to the previous month) was expected in advance, after 0.6% in the same period of the previous year.
The official US labor market report (Non-Farm Payrolls) on Wednesday showed a total of 130,000 non-farm jobs for the month of January. Economists had expected a gain of only 70,000 units, after 48,000 jobs (revised) in December.
The separately calculated unemployment rate also fell by 0.1 percentage points to 4.3%. A status quo of 4.4% was expected.
Further EU GDP estimate confirmed - US inflation could fall
Second estimates of the EU's gross domestic product were also published this morning. GDP rose by 0.3% from October to December compared to the previous quarter, according to the EU statistics authority Eurostat. This confirmed the previous estimate from the end of January.
By comparison, the German economy had also grown by 0.3 percent at the end of 2025.
The weal and woe of the stock market week is now likely to be decided by the US inflation data (14:30). According to experts, price pressure (compared to the same month last year) may have amounted to 2.5%, which is significantly lower than the previous month's figure (2.7%).
According to estimates, the core inflation rate, which is important for the US Federal Reserve, could have stood at 2.5 percent in the same period (previously: 2.6 percent).
Mercedes-Benz profit slumps by almost half
Profits at car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz (ISIN: DE007100000) slumped by almost half last year. Compared to the previous year, net profit in the 2025 financial year fell by around 49 percent from 10.4 billion euros to 5.3 billion euros.
„In this very dynamic environment in China, we are maintaining a cautious approach,“ said CFO Harald Wilhelm. Mercedes-Benz will not be able to halt the downward trend in car sales in China this year either, despite possible impetus from new models in the second half of the year, it was reported in advance.
Mercedes-Benz
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