German Stocks Fall Amid Geopolitical Tensions

11:48 AM EDT, 10/19/2026 (MT Newswires) -- German equities ended lower on Monday, with the blue-chip DAX index falling 1.24%, as broader European markets slipped on mounting international geopolitical tensions and social unrest. Danske Bank noted that Brent crude dropped below $108 per barrel on Monday morning after US President Donald Trump waived key Russian sanctions and tariffs, though persistent supply risks from ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, Russia, and Ukraine kept market volatility elevated. Meanwhile, France faced severe political and economic pressure following violent weekend protests over living costs amid a tense budgetary and electoral backdrop. Amid a quiet day for economic news, market watchers await key data releases for the week, including Germany's September producer price data and ZEW economic sentiment survey due on Tuesday, alongside flash October PMIs scheduled to drop on Friday. In corporate news, Merck KGaA (MRK.F) edged down 0.42% as it agreed to acquire London-based short interfering RNA therapies developer Silence Therapeutics in a deal with an enterprise value of $1.1 billion and an equity value of $1.3 billion. The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. Rheinmetall (RHM.F) and MSC won an auction to jointly acquire Romania's Mangalia shipyard for 138 million euros. The German defense group and Switzerland-based shipping firm plan to transform the site into a dual-use facility for military and civil shipbuilding, including four naval vessels for Romania. Rheinmetall lost 3.25%. Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank Research raised its price target for DHL's (DHL.F) buy-rated stock to 64 euros from 62 euros after the German logistics group upgraded its full-year 2026 outlook. "Last Friday after market, DHL issued an ad-hoc update in which it upgraded its outlook for 2026 EBIT from >EUR6.5bn to >EUR7.0bn (the mid-term target set in 2025), with the delta coming in the DHL divisions and in Express in particular once again. DHL revealed headline financials for 3Q with group revs at EUR22.6bn (+4% vs both DBe & co. cons. at ~EUR21.8bn) and EBIT at EUR1,710m (+4% vs co. cons. at EUR1,652m and +1% vs DBe at EUR1.690m). The bulk of the 3Q EBIT beat came in Express followed by Forwarding, with DHL citing continued benefits in Express from yield & cost measures as well as operating leverage from weight growth, and crucially, only limited support of ~EUR100m from air freight capacity constraints," the research firm said. DHL ended the session 1.24% lower.