German stocks show restraint on Tuesday amid the possible U.S. government shutdown and ongoing concerns over tariff threats. Investors are also analyzing the latest batch of regional economic data, including a report that showed an unexpected plummet in retail sales.

Gate has introduced tariffs on imported wood, kitchen and bathroom wooden furniture starting from October 14, with a further increase scheduled for January 1.

A few minutes ago, the DAX index fell by 18.91 points or 0.08% to 23,756.22.

MTU Aero Engines is up approximately 3.1%. Commerzbank has risen by nearly 1.5%. Siemens Healthineers, Heidelberg Materials, Siemens Energy, Scout24 SE, Deutsche Bank, Bayer, Brenntag, and Siemens have increased by 0.5-1.1%.

E.ON is down approximately 1.1%. Qiagen, Daimler Truck Holding, Mercedes-Benz, BASF, Zalando, Symrise, Henkel, RWE, and Volkswagen are losing between 0.4% and 1%.

Data from Destatis showed that retail sales in Germany unexpectedly plummeted in August due to a decrease in sales of non-food goods.

Retail sales recorded a monthly plummet of 0.2% in August, slower than the decrease of 0.5% recorded in July, data showed. Sales were expected to recover by 0.6%.

Destatis reported that food sales increased by 0.6%, while non-food sales plummeted by 1% compared to July.

In annual terms, retail sales growth slowed to 1.8% from 2.9% in the previous month.

In nominal terms, retail sales increased by 0.1% month-on-month and by 3.2% compared to the previous year.

Import prices in Germany fell by 1.5% year-on-year in August, following a plummet of 1.4% the previous month. This is the fifth consecutive month of falling import prices and the sharpest decline in the current sequence. Month-on-month, import prices decreased by 0.5% in August, continuing the drop of 0.4% recorded the previous month.

Meanwhile, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in Germany remained at 6.3% in September, in line with market expectations. This is the highest level since September 2020, indicating ongoing weakness in the labor market.