Frankfurt's DAX index ended the day largely unchanged at 24,296 points as the Christmas-shortened trading week commenced. Trading volumes were muted, and market participants exercised caution. Although there was renewed optimism about AI stocks and anticipation of possible U.S. Federal Reserve easing next year, geopolitical tensions in Venezuela and ongoing negotiations regarding Ukraine weighed on sentiment. In terms of sector performance, semiconductor stocks led the way, with Infineon Technologies seeing a 2.2% increase. Other significant gainers included Fresenius Medical Care, which rose by 1.1%, Adidas at 1%, GEA Group also at 1%, Qiagen NV with a 0.9% rise, and Siemens Healthineers, which saw a 0.8% uptick. Conversely, E.ON fell by 1.4%, RWE declined by 1.2%, and Siemens Energy dropped by 2.1%. These losses were in line with declines in Danish Orsted and U.S. counterparts, prompted by the U.S. Department of the Interior's decision to suspend leases on five offshore wind projects that were already under construction.