• Eastern European stock markets as outperformers –

Tech stocks remain in demand+++ Nvidia with outstanding figures+++Iran war escalates+++Ukraine war escalates+++Autonomous systems and drones are the future+++Who is really behind the drone attack in Leipzig?+++Dramatic slump in CDU support+++Clear AfD election victory in Saxony-Anhalt – what now?+++Attacks on power plants in Germany+++Is a blackout coming soon?+++Germany remains vulnerable due to data theft in Berlin+++Oil price explodes+++Gold/silver remain in demand, but so does copper+++FED to raise interest rates on September 16?+++Capital market yields remain too high amid excessive debt+++Eastern European stock markets remain top performers: CECE Index (Poland/Hungary/Czech Republic): +24%+++ SETX Index: Southeastern Europe: +30%+++Top performers in Eastern Europe: Hungary HTX +37.7%, Romania: ROTX +36.6%+++Kazakhstan: KTX Index +36.6%+++Poland PTX Index +28.6%

Although the wars in Iran and Ukraine are escalating more and more and, as far as the Ukraine war is concerned, there is even a threat of a Third World War, investors remain very calm. Even the prospect of an FED interest rate hike on September 16 does not seem to worry investors. Following Nvidia’s strong results, technology stocks with AI potential in particular remain in demand. “Intelligent” drones remain a relevant topic in both the defense and commercial sectors. NASDAQ-listed VisionWave Holdings Inc. (USA), which develops products for autonomous systems in the defense and commercial sectors, will be holding a roadshow in Germany from September 23 to 28 in Munich, Frankfurt/Main, Essen, Hamburg and Berlin. Anyone interested in taking part in the roadshow can contact ESI GmbH at info@eaststock.de.

But it is not only technology stocks on NASDAQ that continue to attract attention; Eastern European stocks are also causing a stir. The stock markets in Hungary, Romania and Kazakhstan, each up 37% as measured by the HTX, ROTX and KTX Local Index, as well as the Polish market with a gain of 28% in the PTX Index, remained clear outperformers compared with the NASDAQ Index (+14%) and the DAX (+6%).

Andreas Männicke provides his assessment in his East Stock Trends stock market newsletter (www.eaststock.de ) and also in his new EastStockTV video, episode 272 on YouTube.

Are we heading into World War III with our eyes wide open?

Have we become too careless? Are we now in a situation similar to September 1 and 3, 1939, exactly 87 years ago? On September 1, Germany declared war on Poland, and on September 3, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany. Later came the Third World War. At that time, Germany was struggling with high unemployment and debt and saw the conversion to a wartime economy as a solution. One almost gets the impression that the German government now wants to take a similar path, while the image of Russia as the enemy is being sharpened daily. Yet a policy of détente would now be urgently needed. Many companies from the automotive sector are now moving into the defense sector. VW will probably also turn its attention to defense, while 50,000 employees are to be laid off in the automotive sector, 25,000 of them in Germany.

If Trump cannot reach a peaceful agreement with Iran, Iran has the military capability to permanently control the Strait of Hormuz and to attack U.S. bases in the Middle East as well as Israel effectively with drones and missiles. The oil price has already risen sharply again and could climb even further, which would then also destabilize Europe and Japan.

In the Ukraine war, tensions are also increasing between Russia and Great Britain and between Russia and Germany. From the Russian perspective, both have already become parties to the war. Former President Medvedev is warning both countries not to expand their military activities in Ukraine, as they could otherwise themselves become legitimate targets for Russia. Ukrainian drones have caused an acute gasoline shortage throughout Russia by attacking Russian refineries. Germany wants to build several drone factories in Ukraine together with Ukraine. British Storm Shadow missiles and U.S. Tomahawk missiles are being actively used against Russia in the Ukraine war. Great Britain now even wants to grant Ukraine a production license for Storm Shadow missiles. Trump has not yet gone that far with his Tomahawk missiles, which he only sells to the EU rather than sending them directly to Ukraine. It is also uncertain whether he will continue sending Patriot defense systems to Ukraine, as he needs them in the Iran war.

Russia sees itself at war with NATO

Selinskyi recommends that Putin restrict civilian air traffic when so many Ukrainian drones are flying around in Russia. Putin says this is clearly state terrorism, and Putin does not negotiate with terrorists. The fronts are becoming ever harder, and more and more “red lines” are being crossed on both sides. We may soon reach the point where ground troops from Germany, France and Great Britain also join the war as a last resort. NATO soldiers have long been in Ukraine as trainers.

All it takes is one further escalation and an unintended accident, and we are already in the middle of World War III, while some claim that we have actually been there for a long time, except that the attacks so far have only come from Ukraine. But Russia is also intensifying its attacks on Kyiv and Odesa, even during the daytime, with daily air-raid alerts that make normal office work almost impossible. Grain exports via Odesa are no longer possible. But just like Ukraine, Russia is now also firing on civilian warehouses, severely weakening the Ukrainian economy and in some cases causing it to collapse. Selinskyi is now once again short of EUR 27 billion, which is willingly being covered through new loans from the EU and Germany.

The USA continues to pursue diplomacy

On September 4, in what may possibly be the last diplomatic attempt, U.S. special envoys Wittkof and Kushner were sent to Moscow and Kyiv to work on a new peace plan. Before that, U.S. intelligence chief Ratcliffe had surprisingly traveled to Moscow to warn Russia against testing or attacking a NATO country, for example the Baltic states. The situation continues to intensify. Only on the European side, and especially on the German side, there is apparently no one who negotiates with Putin. Putin is very angry with Chancellor Merz and explains his misconduct by pointing to domestic political and economic problems in Germany.

Who is really behind the drone attack in Leipzig?

The German government considers it certain that the drone attack in Leipzig on August 4 was initiated by Russian intelligence, although it has not been able to present any conclusive evidence. The suspected perpetrators do have Russian passports, but it has not been proven that Russian intelligence was behind the operation. They could even have been false-flag attacks by Ukrainian intelligence or British intelligence. The German government decided to close the Russian Consulate General in Bonn and now wants to subject Russia’s tanker fleet to greater scrutiny. Putin was outraged and regrets this development, as does the Russian ambassador to Germany. Both deny any involvement in the drone attack in Leipzig.

Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov believes that with this measure and the related statements by Chancellor Merz, “Germany has effectively declared war on Russia.” Chancellor Merz wants to make Germany the leading military power in Germany and intends to spend enormous sums on this. But is that what the population wants as well? Former Russian President Medvedev warns that defense companies in Germany actively supporting Ukraine could now also become targets of Russian attacks.

Does Eastern Germany think differently?

In Eastern Germany, the AfD has many supporters, far more than in Western Germany. The clear AfD election victory in Saxony-Anhalt on September 4 did not come as a surprise, although its scale, at 44%, certainly did. Voter turnout was very high. According to the preliminary election results, the AfD was only one seat short, with a vote share of 44%. The CDU’s share of the vote has dramatically halved, which is also a warning shot for the still-serving Chancellor Merz. Merz has long failed to appeal to the population in Eastern Germany, particularly because of his Russophobic stance. In Eastern Germany, Merz was described as a “warmonger” at public election events. The collapse of the CDU vote by half to just under 18% is dramatic and also a disaster for Merz. Pressure on Merz as Chancellor will grow within the CDU if the next elections in Eastern Germany turn out similarly badly. The CDU is in a deep crisis. If the BSW enters the state parliament with 5%, an AfD/BSW coalition would theoretically be possible, although the BSW rejected this before the election. The BSW favors a team of experts as the government.

Forming a government in Saxony-Anhalt will now be very difficult if the AfD does not achieve an absolute majority. The AfD now has the mandate to form a government but cannot implement it without a coalition partner. AfD lead candidate Ulrich Siegmund could still become Minister-President if he ultimately achieves an absolute majority or if some CDU members switch to the AfD after the election. He could also be elected in the third round of voting, since an absolute majority is then no longer required. Most people in Eastern Germany have a different view of the war than people in Western Germany. Russia has already threatened to terminate the Two Plus Four Treaty because Germany allegedly failed to comply with the agreement not to establish NATO bases in Eastern Germany, although there is one in Rostock.

Germany remains highly vulnerable in its critical infrastructure

Before the election in Saxony-Anhalt, there were four attacks on switching installations for power grids. In addition, there was a highly sensitive data theft in Berlin by hackers, which demonstrated how vulnerable Germany is when it comes to critical infrastructure and how quickly a “blackout” could be brought about in cities. This time, however, it was not the evil, aggressive Russian who carried out the attack, but climate activists opposing fossil fuels acting as individual perpetrators.

Investors remain calm despite identifiable risks

So far, global stock markets have barely reacted at all to the clearly identifiable geopolitical risks. Monetary-policy risks and excessive debt in many Western industrialized countries are causing somewhat more concern, including in the USA with more than USD 40 trillion in debt and an annual interest burden of more than USD 1.4 trillion, the highest interest burden ever. The Brent crude oil price, which has risen again to USD 96, and the resulting higher inflation figures could prompt FED Chairman Kevon Warsh to raise interest rates by 0.25 basis points on September 16, something U.S. President Donald Trump would not like at all. Yields on 10- and 30-year U.S. Treasury bonds remain far too high at 4.6% to 5.2%, even though the U.S. Treasury intends to double its purchases of U.S. government bonds from USD 2 billion to USD 4 billion.

Bitcoin, gold and silver back in demand

Bitcoin (BTC) rose by 23% from USD 65,000 to USD 80,000 following the U.S. Treasury’s announcement, and gold/silver also rose by 4% to 6% as a result (gold to USD 4,428 and silver to USD 66/ounce). But the monetary-policy risks have not yet had a lasting effect on global stock markets either. Wall Street is celebrating the strong quarterly results from Nvidia, with revenue and profit doubling compared with the previous year, which also supported the prices of all AI stocks. Nvidia’s share price is now again close to its all-time high at USD 230.

VisionWave Holdings Inc. on roadshow in Germany

Defense stocks also remain in demand. NASDAQ-listed VisionWave Holdings Inc. (WKN A41801, price EUR 0.5, market cap EUR 15.0 million), which develops proprietary AI-, computing- and RF-based technologies for unmanned ground and aerial vehicles, is now holding a roadshow in Germany and will be in Munich on September 23, Frankfurt on September 24, Essen on September 25, Hamburg on September 26 and Berlin on September 28, 2026. Its mission is to drive the future of autonomous systems with its own advanced technologies, including AI, computing acceleration and RF-based sensor technology. It also integrates unmanned aerial and ground vehicles for defense and commercial markets. Anyone wishing to participate in the roadshow of this U.S. technology company can contact ESI GmbH by telephone at 040-6570883 or by email at info@eaststock.de.

Eastern European stock markets as clear outperformers

Largely unnoticed by many investors, Eastern European stock markets have developed over the past three years into some of the best-performing stock markets in the world, and this is once again the case this year. Due to its strong links with Eastern Europe, the Vienna Stock Exchange can be considered half an Eastern European stock market, with the two major banks Erste Bank and Raiffeisenbank International in particular delivering excellent results. The share price of the model portfolio stock Raiffeisenbank International in the EAST STOCK TRENDS stock market newsletter (www.eastsock.de) has already risen by 67% this year and by 367% over three years. Since its low in 2022, the share price has already risen sixfold from EUR 6 to EUR 60.

But the indices from Romania with the ROTX Index, from Hungary with the HTX Index and from Kazakhstan with the KTX Index have also impressed, each gaining 37% since the beginning of the year, meaning these indices clearly outperformed even the NASDAQ Index, up 14%, and the DAX, up “only” 6%. The most liquid market, however, is the Warsaw Stock Exchange, which also pleased investors with a gain of 28% in the PTX Index. The stocks from Georgia performed even better, with Lion Finance Group plc and Georgia Capital, which are also included in the model portfolio of the EAST STOCK TRENDS stock market newsletter (www.eaststock.de/kontakt ). The share price of Lion Finance Group plc (formerly Bank of Georgia) has already risen by 50% this year, by 289% over three years and by 1,000% from EUR 16 to EUR 160 since its low in 2022, making it a tenbagger, every investor’s dream.

Get informed first, then invest

Find out more now about the background and development of the Ukraine/Russia crisis, but also about the future recovery potential of undervalued Eastern European stocks. There are also new opportunities in the Baltic States, Southeastern Europe and the CIS republics (Kazakhstan, Georgia). In 2025, no fewer than 9 stock markets in Eastern Europe once again outperformed with strong gains (CECE Index >50%!). And from the beginning of this year until now, there have once again been 9 Eastern European stock markets that clearly outperformed the DAX. It therefore remains worthwhile to look beyond the usual horizons toward Eastern Europe.

So order a trial subscription now (3 issues by email for only EUR 15) to the monthly EAST STOCK TRENDS (EST) stock market newsletter, featuring another Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary special and an Eastern Europe certificates special, as well as plenty of background information and new investment ideas such as the “Stock of the Month” and attractive certificates at www.eaststock.de, under Stock Market Newsletter. The latest EST issue was published on July 31, 2026.