FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - German steel stocks Salzgitter and Thyssenkrupp have continued their impressive momentum from a strong 2025 into the start of 2026. Salzgitter surged by nearly 8 percent to €43.28, reaching its highest level since April 2022. Thyssenkrupp shares climbed more than 4 percent to €9.67, approaching the upper end of their trading range that has been in place since October.
With a price gain of just over 153 percent in 2025, Salzgitter shares secured third place in the SDax, the small-cap index. Like Thyssenkrupp, the steelmaker benefited from hopes of a revival in the German economy as well as expectations for further protective measures from the EU Commission for Europe's steel industry, which continues to suffer from cheap imports of state-subsidized Chinese steel. Salzgitter has also been buoyed by defense hopes, after being certified a few months ago as a manufacturer of tank steel.
Salzgitter is further supported by the strong performance of copper producer Aurubis, in which Salzgitter holds nearly 30 percent. The Hamburg-based copper smelter is profiting from robust demand for the industrial metal, which is essential for the expansion of renewable energies, electromobility, and artificial intelligence. Aurubis has also benefited from the commissioning of a new site in the United States. The company's shares hit another record high right at the start of the year. Shortly before midday on Friday, they were trading up nearly one percent at €125.40.
Thyssenkrupp managed to top the MDax, the index of mid-cap stocks in Germany, in 2025 with a share price increase of almost 215 percent. In addition to hopes for economic recovery and protectionism, the spin-off of naval shipbuilder TKMS in October provided a further boost, as its valuation benefited from the ongoing boom in the defense sector.
ArcelorMittal shares also gained around one percent on Friday on the Euronext; the stock had also posted strong gains in 2025./mis/ajx/men
