The DAX finished the week on a lower note. At the end of Xetra trading on Friday afternoon, the index was at 23,591 points-a decline of 0.9 percent compared with the previous day and almost 7 percent below the level a week earlier.
Market anxiety was driven by the Iran conflict and the accompanying surge in energy prices, compounded by weak U.S. employment figures reported on Friday. Consorsbank’s chief market analyst, Jochen Stanzl, warned that “no one wants to take the proverbial falling knife right now, especially as the oil‑price rise is accelerating and the $100 benchmark is drawing near”.
Oil prices rose sharply again on Friday. A barrel of Brent crude from the North Sea was trading at $91.10 per barrel at 17:00 local time-an increase of 6.7 percent over the previous trading day’s close.
The diminishing number of tankers operating through the Strait of Hormuz is creating a logistical bottleneck. Kuwait plans to suspend parts of its oil output because it can no longer store the product. Saudi Arabia and other countries are also filling up their storage facilities. Transport through the Hormuz Strait is vital for global markets, especially European exchanges. Stanzl added that “if shipping through this strait can resume smoothly again, it would signal a gradual easing in the markets”.
Until the latest labor data, the New York Stock Exchange seemed able to weather the worldwide sell‑off, but prices are now falling there as well. Recent robust employment figures appear almost fragile, and Stanzl notes that “until that can be proven, another few weeks are needed, and investors will need to scrutinize labor market data twice as closely”. Emerging stagflation fears are contributing to overall market uncertainty ahead of the weekend.
The euro traded slightly weaker on Friday afternoon. One euro was worth $1.1605, and one dollar was equivalent to €0.8617.