Frankfurt’s DAX 40 inched higher to around 24,870 on Monday, snapping a two-week losing streak driven by a pullback in AI-linked stocks and rising geopolitical risks. Oil prices surrendered earlier gains as investors balanced renewed diplomatic efforts against escalating tensions in the Middle East. Brent crude fell back below $88 per barrel after briefly nearing $90, following reports that mediators had proposed a pause in US-Iran hostilities, easing worries over threats from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels to maritime traffic from Saudi Arabia.
On the equity front, solid advances in RWE (up 3.8%), Siemens Energy (up 3.3%), Fresenius (up 2.9%), and Zalando (up 2.2%) offset weakness among several index heavyweights. Airbus slipped 1%, Deutsche Post declined 1.1%, Deutsche Bank eased 0.6%, Merck fell 0.9%, and BASF lost 1%, while Mercedes-Benz, Deutsche Boerse, and BMW also traded lower.
