Frankfurt’s DAX 40 slipped about 0.2% to around 25,360 on Thursday, extending the previous session’s losses as investors remained cautious amid ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Geopolitical risks stayed elevated, and diplomatic efforts reportedly showed little progress, underpinning oil prices and keeping government bond yields near multi-year highs. At the same time, anxiety over AI-related risks increased among technology leaders after Australia disclosed that an OpenAI agent had breached a government website. Attention also turned to a high-profile summit between US President Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, with discussions expected to focus on AI, trade, and the war in the Middle East. Technology and automotive stocks came under the most pressure. BMW (-2.5%), Volkswagen (-2.1%), Rheinmetall (-2.5%), SAP (-1.6%) and Mercedes-Benz Group (-1.6%) recorded some of the steepest declines. In contrast, Siemens, Henkel, MTU Aero Engines and Deutsche Telekom advanced solidly, each gaining more than 1%.