DAX Index Edges Up After Latest German Manufacturing, Retail Sales Data

11:49 AM EST, 11/02/2026 (MT Newswires) -- German shares gained during the first trading day of the month, with the blue-chip DAX index up 0.64% at Monday's close, as investors evaluated fresh domestic manufacturing and retail sales figures. According to S&P Global, the final headline German manufacturing PMI came in at 54.2 in October, as expected, and above the previous month's 53.9, marking the second-highest reading for almost 4.5 years. "The recovery in the German manufacturing sector remained on track in October despite a resurgence in cost pressures, underlining a sense of resilience in the sector," S&P Global Market Intelligence Economics Associate Director Phil Smith said. "Growth in both output and new orders was curtailed somewhat, but the respective rates of expansion nevertheless remained solid by historical standards, underpinned by a combination of burgeoning domestic demand linked in part to the German government's defence and infrastructure spending, and recovering export sales." In other local economic news, Destatis reported that German retail sales dropped 2% month on month in September, compared with a revised 1.2% growth previously and the expected 0.4% uptick. Annually, retail sales were down 2.3%, against a revised 0.3% dip earlier. For the week ahead, market watchers await key domestic economic updates including final composite PMI results due on Wednesday, factory orders and construction PMI on Thursday, as well as the industrial production print on Friday. Internationally, the US midterm elections are likely to dominate headlines alongside additional corporate earnings reports. In corporate updates, Fresenius SE (FRE.F) climbed 2.14% after announcing that it signed a new development agreement with WuXi Biologics to hold exclusive options for up to 37 potential biosimilar candidates and possibly boosting its total portfolio to 66 over the next decade. The German healthcare company will retain exclusive global sales rights and full commercial earnings from any resulting products. Meanwhile, Metzler Capital Markets updated its model and ticked up Puma's (PUM.F) hold-rated stock's price target to 25 euros from 24 euros after the German sportswear company released its third-quarter results. "For FY26, we continue to expect Group sales to contract -3% ex-FX (vs. guidance for a LSD-MSD% decline) and an EBIT loss of EUR101mn (vs. outlook: EUR80mn-130mn loss). In the outer years (FY27-28), we have cut our EBIT estimates by 11-22% due to upward opex revisions, reflecting higher investments across DTC, marketing and IT infrastructure. Overall, Puma's progress on improving brand desirability remains in its very early stages, with consumer pull showing limited traction in EMEA and the Americas so far. While Puma's current restructuring efforts - specifically streamlining distribution channels and clearing excess inventory - are essential steps to stabilise operations, we believe it is still too early to confirm any renewed underlying growth momentum," the research firm wrote. Puma ended the trading day 1.73% higher on Xetra.