-- Germany's blue-chip DAX index was little changed on Wednesday, ending the session 0.18% in the green, as investors weighed continued conflict in the Middle East against a busy corporate earnings season and fresh euro area industrial output data.
According to Eurostat, the eurozone recorded 0.4% monthly increase in industrial production in February, compared with a revised 0.8% dip previously and an expected 0.3% gain. The upbeat reading reflects increased production for intermediate goods, capital goods and non-durable consumer goods. On a yearly basis, the eurozone's industrial production dipped 0.6%, in line with the revised 0.6% decrease earlier and against the expected 1% drop.
"Eurozone industry has been very resilient throughout 2025 despite significant trade turmoil. But the start of 2026 has not been encouraging. As front-loading by American businesses has eased, production levels have dropped again. And while manufacturers have become more optimistic on infrastructure and defence investment promises, the Middle East war has dashed hopes of a broad-based rebound. Energy-intensive industries, in particular, are set to suffer from higher prices," ING said, noting the February 2026 data leaves production levels below most of the 2025 figures.
Zooming in, German business uncertainty hit its highest level since February 2024, as the ifo Institute reported that 78.6% of surveyed companies said it was "difficult or fairly difficult" to forecast future development amid the ongoing Iran war. Ifo said the level of uncertainty was "particularly pronounced" in manufacturing, with 87.7% of companies affected as persistent structural headwinds continue to weigh on the sector.
In corporate news, Deutsche Bank Research expects BMW Group (BMW.F) to maintain its outlook in its first-quarter earnings report due May 6, as the "weak start" into 2026 was already priced in by the market.
"Group volumes in Q1 declined by 3.5% y/y, primarily driven by a double-digit decline in China and a mid-single-digit decrease in the US, while Europe saw a 3% increase. Regarding the model mix, the X3 demonstrated solid momentum, whereas almost all other models reported lower volumes. We understand that the new iX3 is also boosting order intake, which is up by double digits in Europe and extends well into the second half of the year. In terms of profitability, we anticipate headwinds from volumes, FX, raw materials, tariffs, lower R&D capitalization, and depreciation, which will be partially offset by efficiency gains. That said, Auto EBIT margin should come in within the FY range of 4-6% with some support provided by the usual cost seasonality of BMW. For cash generation, we expect working capital build-up to be a headwind, but it should still result in a solid figure," the research firm wrote in an earnings preview note. BMW was down 0.32% at closing.
Meanwhile, Evotec (EVT.F) named Ingrid Müller as chief operating officer, effective May 1. Müller joins the German life sciences company from CureVac, a German mRNA-based vaccine developer acquired by its peer BioNTech in 2025. Evotec rose 2.88% on Xetra.