DE30 tests post-pandemic peak near 13,300 pts

• German retail sales disappoint in July

• DE30 tests post-pandemic peak at 13,300 pts

• Elon Musk to meet German Economy Minister today

Stocks in Europe are surging on Wednesday. German DAX managed to test post-pandemic peak at 13,300 pts but was unable to break above it so far. Moods improved yesterday after release of better-than-expected ISM data and upward move is being continued today. German, French and Dutch equities are European top movers with main indices from those countries gaining over 2%.

German retail sales data for July was released at 7:00 am BST today and it turned out to be a disappointing report. Retail sales dropped 0.9% MoM in spite of an expected 0.5% MoM increase. Data for June was revised lower from -1.6% to -1.9% MoM. Nevertheless, a 4.2% increase was registered compared to July 2019. 

DE30 broke above the upper limit of the downward channel earlier today and a strong upward move was launched. The German index reached a post-pandemic peak at 13,300 pts where upward momentum eased. Bulls seem to struggle with this resistance and pullback could be on the cards. In such a scenario, support at 13,200 pts will be the first one to watch. ADP data release at 1:15 pm BST is likely to provide elevated volatility on equities and the US dollar. Source: xStation5

Linde (LIN.DE) announced that it will boost hydrogen and nitrogen capacity at its joint venture, Line LenHwa. The move was triggered by increased demand from Yangtze Memory Technologies, the biggest chip designer and manufacturer in China. Hydrogen capacity will be doubled while nitrogen capacity will increase by over 35%.

German lawmakers have launched a parliamentary probe into Wirecard (WDI.DE). The probe will not only question people that worked at Wirecard but will also focus on politicians. Members of the German parliament were empowered to hold hearings of prominent politicians. Olaf Scholz, German finance minister who is also responsible for overseeing the country's financial watchdog, is said to be among targets of a probe.

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla (TSLA.DE), is set to meet with the German Economy Minister Peter Altmaier today. Talks are likely to be focused on Tesla's car factory near Berlin that is being built. Musk and Altmaier may also discuss other projects after Musk said in July that Tesla is building "RNA microfactories" in Germany for CureVac, coronavirus vaccine developer.

DAX members 10:23 am BST. Source: Bloomberg