DAX Holds Its Ground Near Record Territory as Earnings Season Winds Down and US Data Takes Centre Stage
Published on 08/13/2026 at 16:31 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
Frankfurt's benchmark index spent Thursday hovering within touching distance of its all-time high, the latest chapter in a rally that has seen the DAX repeatedly probe fresh peaks only to surrender gains in afternoon trading. The index was last seen at 26,393 points, up 0.2 percent, having briefly pushed toward the 26,600 mark in morning dealings before sellers reasserted control.
That intraday pattern — buying pressure at the open, profit-taking by the close — has become something of a signature in recent sessions. Wednesday followed the same script: the DAX touched a record 26,573.50 points, only to close 0.2 percent lower at 26,331.07. The distance from the historic high of 26,581 points now stands at less than one percent.
A Solid End to Earnings Season
Thursday brings the curtain down on the DAX reporting season, with RWE delivering results as the final blue-chip constituent to report. The utility's balance sheet drew praise and provided a respectable coda to the earnings cycle, even as Thyssenkrupp disappointed with its numbers. Dutch payments group Adyen also reported on the day.
The mixed tone was already evident on Wednesday, when the index closed split down the middle: 21 stocks advanced while 19 declined. Rheinmetall led the gainers with a 2.45 percent advance, followed by Siemens Energy and Infineon. On the downside, E.ON dropped 3.44 percent, with SAP and Bayer also under pressure.
Technical Signals Point Both Ways
Chartists are keeping a close eye on the 20-day moving average at 26,386 points, which has so far held as support following Wednesday's pullback. A decisive break below that level could open the door to a slide toward the 50-day line at 26,283 points, with the 200-day average at 25,466 points looming as the next downside marker if selling intensifies. To the upside, the record high at 26,581 points remains the first hurdle, with the psychologically significant 27,000 level waiting beyond.
The relative strength index has climbed to 69.6, brushing against the 70 threshold that technicians traditionally view as overbought territory. That echoes the reading from the previous session, when the RSI sat at 68.6. The Fear & Greed Index, at 62 points, sits in "greed" territory — a confirmation that sentiment is buoyant but not yet stretched to extremes.
External Tailwinds and Domestic Headwinds
Support for the broader market narrative comes from an unexpected quarter: Germany's external accounts. The Bundesbank reported a current account surplus of EUR 25 billion for June, comfortably beating forecasts of EUR 15 billion — evidence that the export engine, despite persistent complaints about the country's competitiveness, continues to generate substantial surpluses.
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Across the Atlantic, the inflation picture has offered further encouragement. US consumer prices rose 3.4 percent year-on-year in July, in line with expectations, while core inflation came in at 2.5 percent. That has prompted markets to trim the probability of a Federal Reserve rate hike in September to roughly 40 percent, down from a coin-flip earlier. The reaction on Wall Street was muted but positive: the Nasdaq 100 gained 0.74 percent to 29,742.60 points, the S&P 500 added 0.26 percent to 7,748.50, while the Dow Jones slipped a marginal 0.04 percent to 53,770.27.
Corporate earnings stateside are adding to the constructive mood. Factset data shows S&P 500 companies grew second-quarter profits by 47 percent year-on-year — the seventh consecutive quarter of double-digit expansion. Bank of America cautions, however, that stripping out one-off gains such as equity stakes held by Alphabet and Amazon leaves growth closer to 30 percent.
That transatlantic optimism stands in contrast to growing unease about Germany's domestic policy direction. TUI chief executive Sebastian Ebel used a television appearance to lambast the federal government's economic strategy as lacking coherence, singling out Chancellor Merz and Economy Minister Reiche for failing to present a clear vision. A study by IW-Consult commissioned by Bavarian business associations adds to the gloom: Bavaria has slipped from ninth to tenth place among 46 regions in a competitiveness ranking, while Germany as a whole sits 13th — and a lowly 42nd when ranked by momentum.
Oil and Geopolitics Add a Cautionary Note
The afternoon brought an additional source of unease from the energy complex. Crude prices had firmed earlier on heightened tensions in the Middle East but gave back those gains during the session. The geopolitical situation in the region remains a live risk factor for market participants, even if it has yet to derail the broader upward trajectory.
Looking at the bigger picture, the DAX's resilience is notable. The index has gained 4.7 percent over the past 30 days and is up 7.5 percent year-to-date, leaving it roughly 20 percent above its 52-week low of 21,863.81 points reached in March. With the index trading 4.4 percent above its 50-day average and 7.4 percent above its 200-day average, the structural uptrend remains intact — even if the elevated RSI suggests volatility could pick up in the near term.
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The immediate catalyst for the next leg will come from the US session, where weekly jobless claims, producer prices and Federal Reserve speakers are all on the docket. A tech-driven rally on Wall Street has already spilled over into Asian trading, and whether the DAX can finally close above its August 12 record may well depend on whether those impulses carry through the European afternoon. As long as the 20-day moving average holds, the path of least resistance remains to the upside.
