DE40: Indices Open Higher, Poised to End the Week in Green; Continental Names New CFO

• Bayer AG is seeking U.S. Supreme Court review of litigation over its weedkiller Roundup

• Merck KGaA is nearing a deal to acquire SpringWorks Therapeutics Inc., with an announcement possible as early as Monday.

• Continental AG has named Roland Welzbacher as its new Chief Financial Officer, effective October 1.

• Siemens AG received a boost as Citi analyst Martin Wilkie resumed coverage with a "Buy" rating and €245 price target

European markets are showing mixed performance with a positive bias. The volatility gauge VSTOXX declined -0.22% to 22.18, while Spain's SPA35 rose 0.71% to 13275.

Several markets recorded gains, with Italy's ITA40 leading (+0.46% to 36622), followed by Austria's AUT20 (+0.54% to 3926). Germany's DE40 gained 0.29% to 22340.6, and France's FRA40 rose 0.27% to 7495.9. The EU50 increased 0.20% to 5095.6, Switzerland's SUI20 advanced 0.21% to 11940, and Poland's W20 climbed 0.25% to 2783.6. Among the decliners, the Netherlands' NED25 fell -0.15% to 867.35, and the UK's UK100 edged down -0.07% to 8428.0.

Dax Returns by Sector. Source: Bloomberg Financial LP

Volatility is currently observed in the broader European market. Source: xStation

The German DE40 Index is continuing its bullish momentum and testing 50-day SMA. Bulls will aim to move above 23.6% Fibonacci retracement level while bears will try to break below 38.2% Fibonacci retracement level which coincides with 30-day SMA. RSI is continuing bullish divergence with higher lows while MACD widens after bullish crossover. Source: xStation

Market News

• Bayer AG (BAYN.DE) is seeking U.S. Supreme Court review of litigation over its weedkiller Roundup, filing an appeal of a 2023 St. Louis verdict that ordered $1.25 million in compensatory damages. CEO Bill Anderson stated at the AGM that the company is committed to significantly containing litigation by the end of 2026, while warning that "litigation industry could force us to even stop selling this vital product." Despite seven years of fighting Roundup cases, Bayer still faces approximately 67,000 claims alleging cancer causation. The company has set aside $16 billion for verdicts and settlements, with $10 billion already spent. Last month, a Georgia jury ordered Bayer to pay over $2 billion in a Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma case, which Bayer will appeal. The ongoing litigation has weighed heavily on Bayer's stock, which is down 27% over the past 12 months.

• Merck KGaA (MRK.DE) is nearing a deal to acquire SpringWorks Therapeutics Inc., with an announcement possible as early as Monday. The acquisition could value SpringWorks at approximately $3.5 billion, or about $47 per share. Merck confirmed it was in late-stage discussions with the U.S. biotech company, which focuses on developing drugs for severe rare diseases and cancer. This would be Merck's largest acquisition since its 2019 purchase of Versum Materials Inc. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Michael Shah notes the deal would complement Merck's oncology business and could bring in up to €1.5 billion in additional annual sales by 2030. Merck shares rose 2.3% in early Frankfurt trading following the news.

• Continental AG (CON.DE) has named Roland Welzbacher as its new Chief Financial Officer, effective October 1. Welzbacher will succeed Olaf Schick, who sought early termination of his contract in December 2024. After a joint transition period beginning August 1, Welzbacher will assume the CFO role as Schick steps down on September 30 following the spinoff of Continental's automotive group segment. When the ContiTech group sector becomes independent as planned, Welzbacher will continue his executive board role at Continental AG, which will then be focused on tires.

• RWE AG (RWE.DE) has completely halted its U.S. offshore activities, according to a transcript of CEO Markus Krebber's upcoming speech at next week's annual general meeting. "In the U.S., where we have stopped our offshore activities for the time being, our business in onshore wind, solar energy and battery storage has so far been developing very dynamically," Krebber stated. The company had previously indicated it would reduce its development activities and the size of its U.S. offshore team.

• Siemens AG (SIE.DE) received a boost as Citi analyst Martin Wilkie resumed coverage with a "Buy" rating and €245 price target, implying a 22% upside from the last price. Wilkie noted that the company's "enlarged" software portfolio positions it as a leader in enabling agentic and physical artificial intelligence in industrial applications.

Other news coming from individual DAX index companies. Source: Bloomberg Financial LP