2026.02.1315:00:36UTC+00DAX Stays on Guard

The DAX 40 was largely flat on Friday afternoon, hovering just above the unchanged mark around 24,850, as caution dominated trading despite a benign US inflation report that strengthened expectations for Federal Reserve rate cuts later this year. Persistent worries about the disruptive impact of artificial intelligence on existing business models continued to weigh on global investors. On the domestic front, attention was focused on the Munich Security Conference.

Among individual stocks, RWE was the weakest performer after Bernstein downgraded the utility from "outperform" to "market-perform," pointing to valuation concerns following a sharp rally that had lifted the share price by roughly 57% by 2025 and more than 15% by early 2026. In contrast, defense and aerospace names such as MTU Aero Engines and Rheinmetall advanced. MTU Aero Engines was among the top gainers, adding 4.6% as it benefited from an upbeat outlook from French peer Safran. Rheinmetall climbed 2.8% following news of its automotive-business divestment and the award of a €200 million NATO contract for 120mm ammunition.