German Blue-chip DAX Index Little Changed; Eurozone GDP Growth Eases, Employment Stabilizes

11:56 AM EST, 11/13/2026 (MT Newswires) -- German equities ended the trading week little changed, with the blue-chip DAX index shedding 0.08% on Friday, as the latest economic data showed slowing gross domestic product growth and stable job figures in the euro area. According to Eurostat's second estimate, the eurozone's GDP edged up 0.4% for the third quarter, following a 0.6% uptick and consistent with the flash estimate. On a yearly basis, the eurozone registered 1.3% economic growth, consistent with the initial data and above the previous quarter's 1.2% expansion. Meanwhile, preliminary data from Eurostat showed that employment remained stable in the third quarter, after a 0.1% gain in the previous quarter and below the consensus estimate of a 0.2% increase. Annual employment growth for the bloc came in at 0.4%, as expected, against the previous 0.5% rise. Back home, Germany's selling prices in wholesale trade were up 8.8% year over year in October, following an 8.7% jump a month ago. Destatis attributed the reading to the Middle East conflict, which pushed wholesale prices of energy products higher. In corporate news, Mercedes-Benz Group (MBG.F) intends to suspend all future investments in Germany after months of failed labor union negotiations, London's Financial Times reported. The newspaper noted that production head Michael Schiebe said in an internal interview that current cost structures block domestic project funding, while Labour Director Britta Seeger added that the company will now have to more thoroughly evaluate potential plant closures. The German carmaker rose 0.15% at closing. Meanwhile, Munich Re (MUV2.F) gained 0.92%, as Berenberg expects the German reinsurance group to generate more earnings from investments than from its underwriting business starting in full-year 2027. "From FY27, we forecast the investment result to overtake the total technical result for the first time under IFRS 17, as softening pricing erodes margins in the Property & Casualty Re (P&C Re) segment, while higher yields lift the investment result. Along with support from the Life & Health Re (L&H Re) segment and ERGO, we forecast net income staying flat at cEUR6.3bn in FY27 (versus the original FY26 target), where we think consensus is too pessimistic," the research firm said. Turning to the oil market, the International Energy Agency further trimmed its 2026 global demand outlook in its November report amid high fuel prices and ongoing disruptions to Gulf exports. The agency projects an average decrease of 2.7 million barrels per day, compared with the previous month's forecast of 2.6 million barrels per day. It also expects the demand contraction to ease in the fourth quarter, following the declines logged in the prior two quarters, before recovering by 2 million barrels per day in 2027.