Live Markets: International investors snap up German stocks
08/09/2025 13:36
STOXX 600 up 0.3% French PM faces confidence vote Oil gains on Russian tensions Nasdaq futures inch higher Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at markets.research@thomsonreuters.com INTERNATIONAL INVESTORS SNAP UP GERMAN STOCKS Germany has attracted the strongest equity inflows among major markets in 2025, reversing about half of the outflows since 2022, according to Goldman Sachs. The turnaround has been driven by the country's planned fiscal expansion, which included a special 500 billion euro infrastructure fund and an exemption from debt rules for defence spending approved in March. Goldman forecasts a 3.8% federal deficit by 2026, with spending focused on defence and capital investment. This underpins its projection of over 1.4% GDP growth in 2026, compared with flat or negative growth in 2023–24. The shift follows years of stagnation and geopolitical uncertainty after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Adding to the optimism, the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin) recently said growth is likely to accelerate to 1.7% in 2026 and 1.8% in 2027 as domestic demand replaces net trade as the main growth driver. "Recent inflows have been driven by international investors returning to German equities after a long period of being sellers," Goldman Sachs says. Domestic investors remain net sellers of German equities, Goldman says, given their deep-rooted risk aversion. The DAX index .GDAXI is up about 20% in 2025 and trades at 15.2 times forward P/E, which is above its historical average but still at a 30–40% discount to the U.S. as per the bank's estimates. Goldman says this makes valuations attractive relative to growth prospects. (Joel Jose) ***** EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS: FRENCH POLITICAL TURMOIL LARGELY BAKED INTO STOCKS CLICK HERE FANCY A DRINK? ALCOHOL INDUSTRY AT INFLECTION POINT CLICK HERE WITH RATE CUTS COMING, MS BACKS HEALTHCARE AS HEDGE CLICK HERE BANKS PROP UP THE STOXX, CAC EDGES UP CLICK HERE BEFORE THE BELL: EUROPEAN FUTURES EDGE UP CLICK HERE FROM ONE POLITICAL KERFUFFLE TO ANOTHER CLICK HERE