German stocks experienced a slight decline on Thursday morning, slightly lagging behind other leading European markets. This cautious trading behavior reflects investors' response to the final figures for national consumer price inflation.
Earlier in the session, the DAX benchmark index had reached 20,693.00 points. However, it recently slipped by 21.97 points, a decline of 0.11%, settling at 20,593.90.
According to the latest data from Destatis, Germany's consumer price index increased by 2.6% in December, marking an acceleration from November's 2.2% rise. This figure aligns with the preliminary data released on January 7. Notably, December's inflation rate is the highest since January 2024, which saw a rise of 2.9%.
Consumer prices also saw a revised upward increase of 0.5% in December, compared to the initial estimate of 0.4%. The EU-harmonized inflation rate remained steady at 2.8% in December, following an upward revision from 2.4% in November.
In corporate news, Zalando is performing remarkably well, with shares surging nearly 16%. The fashion and lifestyle e-commerce leader announced exceeding its adjusted EBIT forecast for fiscal year 2024, a result of robust customer growth, effective marketing strategies, and improved product turnover. The company now predicts an adjusted EBIT of approximately 510 million euros, surpassing its previous guidance of 440 to 480 million euros.
Preliminary data indicates that Zalando's gross merchandise volume (GMV) for fiscal year 2024 increased by 4.5% year-on-year, reaching 15.3 billion euros, while revenue climbed by 3.9% to 10.5 billion euros.
Other companies showing gains include Rheinmetall, with a 3.2% rise. Furthermore, Porsche, Beiersdorf, Sartorius, Puma, Merck, Infineon, Commerzbank, and Siemens Healthineers are up between 0.7% and 1.5%.
Conversely, HeidelbergCement and Vonovia experienced declines of 1.5% and 1.4%, respectively. Siemens Energy, Henkel, Brenntag, Deutsche Telekom, and Siemens also saw decreases ranging from 0.5% to 1.1%.
