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DAX Index Slips; German Private Sector Growth Rises

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Germany's blue-chip DAX index ended Wednesday's trading session 0.59% in the red as investors assessed upbeat business survey data, fresh economic forecasts and ongoing diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict in the Middle East.

The latest survey figures from S&P Global showed Germany's private sector expansion picked up pace in September as a services sector recovery counterbalanced slowing manufacturing growth. The S&P Global Flash Germany Composite PMI Output Index came in at an 11-month high of 53.8, compared with the previous and expected 51.8.

Meanwhile, in its latest Economic Outlook, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development raised its 2026 gross domestic product growth forecast for Germany by 0.4 percentage points to 1.1%, citing export recovery despite ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. However, the group also lifted its 2026 inflation projection for the country from its June forecast by 0.2 percentage points to 2.9%.

On the geopolitical front, US President Donald Trump used his UN General Assembly address to threaten to "annihilate" Iran if an agreement is not reached, while playing down prospects for a resolution before the US midterm elections. Despite the aggressive rhetoric, US and Iranian representatives quietly met via intermediaries on the sidelines of the assembly for their first discussions since June.

"We believe that oil price direction in the medium term may be directly tied to what comes out of the meetings and appearances this week. Yet these discussions can go either way, including the bad way. One reason is that the Iranian side has gotten much more aggressive in its rhetoric already," Macquarie said in a note. "And Trump hasn't made overtures that are peaceful yet, either... Our point is that we've seen efforts to foster a diplomatic solution falter many times before, so we wonder why this time should be different. If it isn't different, we may see a resumption of an intense kinetic war after the US mid-terms in early November, or before."

In corporate news, German defense group Rheinmetall (RHM.F) rose 3.19% and was the top stock, after announcing that its Naval Systems Division signed a multi-year contract to provide technical support and maintenance for four liquefied natural gas-powered German customs patrol vessels.

BofA Global Research affirmed its buy rating and price objective of 110 euros on Symrise (SY1.F) after hosting an investor trip to the German chemicals company's fragrance campus in Grasse, France.

"The company has built an ecosystem of assets addressing different segments; namely Lautier as a premium brand and Neroli for more affordable solutions. Symrise is the #4 player in the industry, with a sizeable gap of 2-3x to the peers above. As such, we perceive Symrise as a 'challenger' and the company has made sizeable investments in recent years to try and close the gap. Symrise finds itself on more fragrance 'core lists' but there is still ample scope for gaining mindshare," BofA wrote. Symrise lost 1.05%.

What else is happening in Asia Markets?

Asia Markets

Update: US Equity Indexes Close Mixed While Treasury Yields Retreat With Crude Oil

(Updates with index/price moves and comments from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes ended mixed Tuesday, with materials emerging as top gainers while financials fronted the decliners.The Nasdaq Composite rose 0.5% to 27,244.28, after hitting an intraday record earlier in the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% to 51,863.69 while the S&P 500 was unchanged at 7,764.64.Energy and communication services were among the decliners, while the consumer staples sector was one of the biggest outperformers.On Monday, more US stocks in the S&P 500 index scored new 52-week lows during the session than notched 52-week highs, CNBC reported. The last time that occurred for the S&P 500 was in December 1999, the year before the dot.com bust, the news report said.US President Donald Trump told the UN General Assembly that a deal with Iran is possible after the midterm elections, but his other choice is to "annihilate the Islamic Republic," CNN reported.The key actors in the US-Iran war will be having meetings in New York, starting Tuesday, Thierry Wizman, global foreign-exchange and rates strategist at Macquarie, said in a note. "And the agreements and accords that come out of those meetings may determine whether the war continues and intensifies or whether an off-ramp is found.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract dropped 1.2% to $94.59 per barrel, while the global benchmark North Sea Brent slumped 1.6% to $98.69 per barrel.The Federal Reserve's next interest rate increase could come as early as October as higher oil prices threaten to push inflation farther away from the US central bank's 2% goal, Oxford Economics said in a report e-mailed Tuesday. The research outfit has raised its projections for oil prices, factoring in risks to oil shipments via the Red Sea at a time when the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed.The US Treasury's 2-year auction hit a high yield of 4.787% on Tuesday, up from the 4.204% high in the previous auction. The bid-to-cover ratio for the auction was 2.63, above the 2.60 ratio in the previous auction.Most US Treasury yields slipped, with the 10-year yield leaning lower to 4.96% and the two-year rate down by less than one basis point to 4.75%.Gold futures rose 0.3% to $4,397.5, and silver futures jumped 1.8% to $67.63, turning the corner from earlier in the day.In economic news, Redbook US same-store sales rose by 7.6% from a year earlier in the week ended Sept. 19 after an 8.5% year-over-year increase in the previous week.In company news, Amgen's (AMGN) phase 3 study of dazodalibep met its primary endpoint, showing statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in systemic disease activity at week 48 in adults with Sjogren's disease, the drugmaker said. Shares jumped 4.3%, the Dow's top gainer.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$AMGN
Asia Markets

Update: US Equity Indexes Mixed in Midday Trading

(Updates with index/price moves, macroeconomic data, and comments from the first paragraph.)US equity indexes were mixed, with materials emerging as top gainers while financials fronted decliners, in midday trading on Tuesday.The Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.3% to 27,211.5, after hitting an intraday record earlier in the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.4% to 51,821.2 while the S&P 500 was unchanged at 7,763.9. Financials and communication services led decliners.US President Donald Trump told the UN General Assembly that a deal with Iran is possible after the midterm elections, but his other choice is to "annihilate the Islamic Republic," CNN reported.The front-month US West Texas Intermediate crude oil contract climbed 0.5% to $96.30 per barrel, while the global benchmark North Sea Brent declined 0.3% to $100.05 per barrel.The Federal Reserve's next interest rate increase could come as early as October as higher oil prices threaten to push inflation farther away from the US central bank's 2% goal, Oxford Economics said in a report e-mailed Tuesday. The research outfit has raised its projections for oil prices, factoring in risks to oil shipments via the Red Sea at a time when the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed.The US Treasury's 2-year auction hit a high yield of 4.787% on Tuesday, up from the 4.204% high in the previous auction.The bid-to-cover ratio for the auction was 2.63, above the 2.60 ratio in the previous auction.Most US Treasury yields declined after midday, with the 10-year yield unchanged at 4.96% and the two-year rate less than one basis point to 4.75%.In economic news, Redbook US same-store sales rose by 7.6% from a year earlier in the week ended Sept. 19 after an 8.5% year-over-year increase in the previous week.The Richmond Fed's monthly manufacturing index fell to minus 2 in September from 4 in August, compared with the expectations for 2 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank's monthly non-manufacturing activity index worsened to minus 22.0 in September from minus 10.6 in the previous month, compared with the expectations for an improvement to minus 8.7 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.In company news, Amgen's (AMGN) phase 3 study of dazodalibep met its primary endpoint, showing statistically significant and clinically meaningful improvement in systemic disease activity at week 48 in adults with Sjogren's disease, the drugmaker said. Shares jumped 3.9%, the Dow's top gainer.

Dow JonesNasdaq CompositeS&P 500$AMGN
Asia Markets

Exchange-Traded Funds Rise, US Equities Mixed After Midday

Broad Market IndicatorsBroad-market exchange-traded funds IWM and IVV edged higher. Actively traded Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) added 0.5%.US equity indexes traded mixed, with materials leading gainers and financials fronting decliners after midday on Tuesday.EnergyIShares US Energy ETF (IYE) fractionally up and the State Street Energy Select Sector SPDR (XLE) down less than 0.1%.TechnologyThe State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) added 0.4%; iShares US Technology ETF (IYW) rose 0.4%, and iShares Expanded Tech Sector ETF (IGM) gained 0.3%.The State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD) was up 1.4%, and iShares Semiconductor (SOXX) rose 1.6%.FinancialThe State Street Financial Select Sector SPDR (XLF) was 1.8% lower. Direxion Daily Financial Bull 3X Shares (FAS) declined 5.5%, and its bearish counterpart, Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3X Shares (FAZ), advanced 5.6%.CommoditiesCrude added 0.5%, and the United States Oil Fund (USO) was down 0.9%. Natural gas gained 4%, and the United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) moved 4.1% higher.Gold on Comex slipped 0.2%, and the State Street SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) was down 0.2%. Silver added 0.3%, and iShares Silver Trust (SLV) added 0.1%.ConsumerThe State Street Consumer Staples Select Sector SPDR (XLP) added 1.1% and the Vanguard Consumer Staples ETF (VDC) rose 1%.The State Street Consumer Discretionary Select Sector SPDR (XLY) was up 0.3%. VanEck Retail ETF (RTH) added 0.4%, and the State Street SPDR S&P Retail (XRT) rose 1.5%.HealthcareThe State Street Health Care Select Sector SPDR (XLV) gained 0.6%, while iShares US Healthcare (IYH) and Vanguard Health Care ETF (VHT) added 0.8% each. IShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) was up 1.7%.IndustrialThe State Street Industrial Select Sector SPDR (XLI) fell fractionally. Vanguard Industrials Index Fund (VIS) was up 0.1% and iShares US Industrials (IYJ) dipped 0.1%.CryptocurrencyIn midday activity, bitcoin (BTC-USD) was fractionally lower. Among cryptocurrency ETFs, ProShares Bitcoin ETF (BITO) declined less than 0.1%, ProShares Ether ETF (EETH) was down 0.6%, and ProShares Bitcoin & Ether Market Cap Weight ETF (BETH) dropped 0.5%.

Dow Jones^EEM^EXI^FAS^FAZ^GLD^IBB^IGM^IGV^IPK^IVV^IWMNasdaq Composite^IYE^IYH^IYJ^IYK^IYW^PMR^QQQ^RTH^SOXXS&P 500^SPY^UNG^USO^VDC^VHT^VIS^XLE^XLF^XLI^XLK^XLP^XLV^XRT^XSD$BETH$BITO$EETH