The German DAX fell sharply on Thursday. At the close of Xetra trading, the index stood at 22,840 points, a drop of 2.8 % from the previous day.
Only the shares of Deutsche Börse managed to resist the downtrend for most of the session, gaining roughly 0.3 %. All other stocks fell, with Von Voivoda leading the decline at -12 %. The real‑estate group would be hit especially hard if the ECB raised rates again to curb a possible rise in inflation. Even the reported rebound to a billion‑euro profit after a dry spell would likely be wiped out by impending write‑downs.
Investors are slowly settling on the view that the Middle‑East conflict may continue for an extended period and that energy prices could stay stubbornly high. The war in Iran has already caused significant infrastructure damage, which could hamper production even if the fighting ends quickly.
Gas prices jumped by about 14 % on Thursday, though the premium was even higher in the morning and eased somewhat during the day. In the afternoon, a megawatt‑hour delivered in April cost roughly €62, implying a consumer price of at least 11 to 14 cents per kilowatt‑hour (kWh), including ancillary costs and taxes, if the level persists.
Oil also rose sharply. A barrel of North Sea Brent crude fetched $110.70 on Thursday evening around 5 p.m. German time-an increase of 3.1 % over the previous close.
The euro was slightly stronger in the afternoon; one euro traded at $1.1534, while the dollar was worth €0.8670.