The Dax DE0008469008 is likely to hold on to its gains from the recent recovery rally at the start of the week.

One hour before trading began, the X-Dax DE000A0C4CA0, Germany's leading index, signaled a gain of 0.1 percent to 22,266 points. Last week alone, it had gained just over four percent in its recovery sprint.

Friday's daily high of 22,318 points is getting closer again. Hopes are rising that the DAX will now succeed in sustainably overcoming the 50-day moving average. This line currently stands at 22,215 points and signals the medium-term trend to investors interested in chart techniques.

After severe turbulence this month, with a temporary loss of almost 17 percent following the tariff conflict triggered by the US in early April, the DAX is now slightly up again. It has recovered by more than 20 percent from the monthly low of 18,489 points. The German leading index is currently just under seven percent short of its record high of 23,746 points.

The big question is how far the current rally can go, stated portfolio manager Thomas Altmann of asset manager QC Partners. The key question for the DAX is whether more buyers will enter the market who believe the previous record highs will be reached quickly. He cautions the future, as statistically speaking, April has been the DAX's best month of the year for quite some time.

Meanwhile, investment strategist Mislav Matejka of JPMorgan sees the risk-reward ratio of international stock markets as increasingly attractive compared to the US. If the news surrounding tariffs continues to brighten, they should benefit more than Wall Street – and suffer less than usual if recession concerns prevail.

Among the individual stocks in the DAX, BASF DE000BASF111 is likely to be the first target. According to the Dutch press, Akzo Nobel NL0000009132 is interested in BASF's coatings division. However, pre-market trading on Tradegate saw only a slight increase in BASF shares compared to Friday's Xetra close.

The shares of the two reinsurers Munich Re DE0008430026 and Hannover Rück DE0008402215 suffered slightly in pre-market trading due to an analyst assessment by the British bank HSBC, which withdrew its buy recommendation for both stocks and downgraded them to "Hold."

Meanwhile, research firm Jefferies took a more cautious stance on airport operator Fraport DE0005773303. Analyst Graham Hunt considers the share price rally of recent months to be inappropriate given the increasingly gloomy economic environment. He therefore cut his price target to €52 and downgraded the stock from "Hold" to "Underperform." The stock fell significantly on Tradegate.

Commercial vehicle manufacturer Traton DE000TRAT0N7 reported first-quarter figures and gained moderately on Tradegate. After a weak start to the year, the company expects an improvement in the second half.

Delivery Hero DE000A2E4K43 could receive a boost given the potential continued industry consolidation. The British food delivery service Deliveroo GB00BNC5T391 has confirmed that it has received a takeover offer from its US competitor Doordash US25809K1051. It rose slightly in premarket trading.

Also under scrutiny is the IT service provider Nagarro DE000A3H2200, as it is postponing the publication of its 2024 annual figures and annual report. This delay is expected to lead to Nagarro's temporary exclusion from the SDax DE0009653386. The share price has suffered a correspondingly sharp decline on Tradegate.

Continental DE0005439004, Merck KGaA DE0006599905 and Bayer DE000BAY0017 are trading ex-dividend today.