11:50 AM EDT, 10/08/2026 (MT Newswires) -- German equities remained in the red on Thursday, with the blue-chip DAX index losing 1.12%, as investors assessed ongoing export weakness in the eurozone's largest economy and fresh bond selloff in Europe amid rising oil prices. The Federal Statistical Office reported that Germany's calendar and seasonally adjusted trade surplus was 19.5 billion euros in August, compared with the revised 21.6 billion euros in July and the market forecast of 19 billion euros. Month-over-month exports ticked down 0.8%, against the revised 0.5% dip earlier and the expected 0.8% gain, while imports rose 0.9%, above the revised 5.5% drop and below the consensus estimate of 2.8% growth. "It is clear that the structural challenges for German exporters remain: geopolitical shifts and trade tensions are clearly affecting an economy that benefited enormously from free trade," ING said. "The geopolitical shifts are clearly reflected in the shifting nature of German trade. The most remarkable one is the changing role of China, from a welcome export destination to a rival." Highlighting growing trade frictions, the European Union is said to be considering unilateral trade measures, including retaliatory action such as tariffs, after Beijing rejected a proposal to voluntarily cap its hybrid vehicle exports, London's Financial Times reported, citing two diplomats briefed on the plan. According to the report published ahead of EU Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič's ongoing China visit, Šefčovič suggested limiting Chinese hybrid sales to 15% of the EU market, down from over a third currently. On the geopolitical front, The Atlantic reported that the White House requested plans from the Pentagon for potential military strikes on Iran before the midterm elections, sparking fresh upside risks for oil prices and interest rates. In corporate updates, Daimler Truck (DTG.F) reported that its third-quarter group unit sales climbed 26% year over year, selling 91,260 vehicles for the three-month period. "The sharp y/y acceleration in TNA deliveries is unsurprising given the elevated order intake beginning in late 2025. We expect the full Q3 results to reveal a moderation in orders as the industry faces an air pocket due to limited remaining production slots before 2027. However, orders should reaccelerate in Q4 and Q1 2027 as the backdrop remains fundamentally favourable (higher freight rates driving margin recovery for haulers, fleet age elevated). MB demand remains fairly stable at a good level, in line with our expectation," RBC Capital Markets wrote in a quick take report. The German truck maker ended the trading day 0.02% lower. Meanwhile, German life science company Bayer (BAYN.F) said its supplemental new drug application for finerenone in non-diabetic chronic kidney disease was accepted for review by the US Food and Drug Administration. The acceptance was based on late-stage Find-CKD trial results demonstrating finerenone's ability to delay disease progression and lower cardiovascular-kidney events compared with placebo, in addition to standard of care. Bayer's shares ended the session 2.98% in the red.

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