FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Geopolitical tensions surrounding Iran returned to the forefront in Asia and Europe on Friday. Approximately two and a half hours before the Xetra opening, broker IG signaled an 0.8 percent decline for the Dax, pointing to 24,471 points. Overnight, the index hit a low of 24,318 points.
Despite a ceasefire, the US and Iran have exchanged fire in the Strait of Hormuz. 'US forces repelled unprovoked Iranian attacks and responded with self-defense strikes,' the US military's Central Command (Centcom), responsible for the Middle East, announced on the X platform.
President Trump urged Iran to sign a peace agreement swiftly, warning that the US military would otherwise strike Iranian units much harder and more violently in the future. The recent decline in oil prices has stalled, with prices picking up significantly overnight. Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates has also reported renewed Iranian attacks.
The Dax was already struggling the previous day, despite the AI boom in the US and Asia. It reached its weekly high on Wednesday at 25,152 points, still well below its January record of 25,507 points. The index is now expected to close the price gap that opened on Wednesday starting from 24,400 points./ag/jha/
