2025-03-14 11:41:03Frankfurt's DAX gained ground, advancing by more than 1.5% to surpass 22,900 on Friday, outperforming peers, on reports that Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting Friedrich Merz and key political parties agreed on a massive increase in state borrowing. This comes just days ahead of a parliamentary vote next week. Meanwhile, traders continued to monitor trade tensions, geopolitical events and corporate news. Defense industry stocks and materials received a boost, with Rheinmetall rising 5.7% and Heidelberg Materials up 3.4%, placing them at the top of the index. Banks also performed well. Daimler Truck rose over 2% after reported Q4 earnings that surpassed expectations and provided a robust outlook for this year. BMW shares bounced back from an early 4% decline, rising 0.8%, despite reporting a 34% drop in 2024 profits and forecasting a 5-7% earnings margin for 2025, below some competitors. Still, the index was set to decline about 0.4% this week.