11:53 AM EDT, 10/22/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Germany's blue-chip DAX index ended Thursday's session 1.07% lower, as investors weighed geopolitical uncertainty against the latest earnings reports and corporate headlines, including EQT's buyout offer for Qiagen (QIA.F). Shares of the molecular testing company surged to the top of the DAX index, gaining 4.94%, after agreeing to a 10.8 billion-euro all-cash takeover offer from Swedish private equity group EQT's XI fund at 46.50 euros per share, with its leadership recommending shareholders accept the deal. After the anticipated mid-2027 completion, Qiagen is expected to be delisted from the Frankfurt and New York exchanges. Meanwhile, Sartorius (SRT.F, SRT3.F) maintained its full-year 2026 sales revenue target, projecting operational sales revenue in constant currencies, excluding tariff effects, at around the midpoint of 5% to 9%. The outlook confirmation comes as the life science equipment and technology supplier reported 2.74 billion euros in nine-month sales revenue, representing an 8.1% year-over-year increase in constant-currency operational sales. "Q3 results reduce near-term execution risks and support a modest upward revision to our revenue forecast. Nevertheless, questions remain regarding the sustainability of the recovery, particularly in investment-driven product categories. Evidence of a broad based recovery in pharmaceutical capex remains limited. We therefore reiterate our SELL rating but raise our target price from EUR 190 to EUR 200, primarily reflecting lower long-term capex assumptions. These support higher free cash flow, accelerate deleveraging, and could reduce financing costs, providing additional upside to EPS over time," mwb Research said. Sartorius rose 3.58% on Xetra. While Russia agreed to resume US-mediated peace negotiations with Ukraine, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East continued to push up oil prices. The New York Times reported that joint US-Israeli plans are supposedly in place to target Iran's energy infrastructure following the US midterm elections. Concurrently, ongoing strikes across Saudi Arabia killed two people at the Shaybah oil field and claimed another life in an attack on King Fahd International Airport. "All those headlines have come amidst little sign of progress towards a deal. Indeed, Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in an FT op-ed yesterday that 'we have no trust whatsoever in the sincerity of the US administration's professed desire for peace with Iran.' And he also said 'there is little reason to expect progress now.' So that dampened hopes for a near-term resolution, and oil prices have continued to rise over the last 24 hours," Deutsche Bank Research said. On the economic front, flash data from the European Commission's latest survey showed euro area consumer confidence reached -17.9 points in October, compared with the previous month's -16.8 points and the expected -17 points.

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