DAX ends week up more than 2% at 25,623 – Rheinmetall and carmakers lead

Data as of: Xetra closing prices Friday, 16 October 2026 (last trading day before the weekend), weekly change 9–16 Oct; as of about 07:30 CEST on Saturday, 17 October

The DAX benchmark index (Germany's 40 largest listed companies) closed Friday 0.95% higher at 25,622.61 points on Xetra – according to Dow Jones its highest level in about three weeks. That adds up to a weekly gain of 2.1%. The MDAX (mid-caps) gained 1.46% to 30,656.65, the SDAX (small caps) 1.41% to 18,206.26 and the TecDAX (technology stocks) 1.12% to 4,014.86. The Euro Stoxx 50, the eurozone benchmark, rose 0.58% to 6,204.23 (week: +0.5%).

Earlier in the week, unexpectedly high US inflation had fuelled fears that the US Federal Reserve could raise interest rates again in October. In a speech in Bangkok, Fed chair Kevin Warsh did not comment specifically on monetary policy, and investors now see a hike as less likely. He also described AI investment as a pillar of the US economy. US technology stocks nonetheless came under pressure again: the Nasdaq 100 was down about 1.3% at the European close.

Rheinmetall was the top DAX performer, up 6.3%; a Morgan Stanley study expects more defence orders from Germany's federal budget by year-end. BMW, Mercedes-Benz and VW rose almost 3% to 3.5% after a German-French agreement on a joint car industry package that could further loosen the EU's planned combustion-engine ban. In the MDAX, Nordex jumped 12.3% after strong quarterly results and Aixtron recovered 6.2%. SAP was the weakest DAX stock, down 1.0%.

The ECB reference rate for the euro was 1.1253 dollars, up from 1.1208 on Thursday. On Monday, China's third-quarter GDP (04:00) and German August factory orders (08:00) are among the releases. Tuesday brings the ZEW economic sentiment survey and, in the evening, Deutsche Börse's quarterly results.