Germany's businesses have been frustrated by government inaction on the stagnating economy. Sunday's national election raises hopes of a stable two-party coalition of conservatives and center-left Social Democrats,

Chancellor Olaf Scholz conceded defeat for his center-left Social Democrats after what he called 'a bitter election result.'

On 23 February, Germany will vote to decide who will run their next federal government. There’s five candidates running to be chancellor – the frontrunner is Friedrich Mertz from the Christian Democrat party. In Germany, a single party rarely wins the majority of seats in the Bundestag, meaning coalition governments often form.

German stocks rallied on Monday and the euro reached a one-month high after Germany’s election result put centrist parties on track to form a coalition. European shares more broadly held steady, while Wall Street futures rose after a U.