DAX Index Rallies Amid US Democratic Congressional Win; Eurozone Inflation Rises

11:49 AM EST, 11/04/2026 (MT Newswires) -- The blue-chip DAX index jumped 2.38% on Wednesday's close, joining a global market rally, after Democrats secured control of both chambers of the US Congress. "US voters blame Trump for high prices. That has cost the Republicans dearly. As attention now shifts to the November 2028 presidential and congressional elections, I expect mounting pressure on Trump from other Republicans to get petrol prices back to normal by resolving the Iran issue. With or without a final round of bombing in the next few weeks, I thus expect Trump to strike an explicit (or implicit) deal with Iran that reopens the Strait of Hormuz by early 2027," Berenberg Chief Economist Holger Schmieding said in a macro view report. Back home, business survey data compiled by S&P Global showed Germany's private sector growth cooled in October, amid a fresh drop in service sector demand alongside a softer yet solid rise in new orders. The final S&P Global Germany Composite PMI Output Index stood at 53.4, below the previous 11-month high of 53.8 and above the flash estimate of 52.8. Meanwhile, preliminary data from Eurostat showed the euro area's annual inflation rate rose to 4% in October from 3.8% a month ago, as expected. Meanwhile, the core rate, which excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, came in at 2.5%, consistent with market expectations and unchanged from September. The highest contributors for the month were energy, followed by services, food, alcohol and tobacco, and then non-energy industrial goods. In corporate news, Heidelberg Materials (HEI.F) rose 9.77% to become the DAX's best performer after reporting better-than-expected third-quarter results, including a 10% year-over-year increase in revenue to 6.41 billion euros. RBC Capital Markets noted the German building materials company's result came in 4% above consensus forecasts. "The beat was driven by Europe, where EBITDA was 5% above consensus, while North America was broadly in line. FY26 RCO guidance of EUR3.40bn to EUR3.65bn was reiterated (consensus at EUR3.49bn, 1% below the midpoint) with 9M RCO at EUR2,530m already tracking at 74% of the midpoint. The Group also announced an expansion of the Transformation Accelerator of EUR300m which will come on top of the original EUR500m which is due to be delivered and exceeded in 2026. We expect the shares to perform well today and to outperform the sector," RBC said in a quick-take note. Continental AG (CON.F) shares also rose 5.74% after the German automotive parts manufacturer raised its full-year 2026 outlook on the back of robust third-quarter earnings performance in Europe. The upgrades include a projected adjusted free cash flow of 1.0 billion euros to 1.3 billion euros, up from the prior range of 700 million euros to 1.1 billion euros, as well as an adjusted EBIT margin expected to reach 13.4% to 14% versus the previous target of 12% to 13.5%.