The DAX stayed in the negative zone into the afternoon on Tuesday after a tentative start. By about 12:30 p.m. the benchmark index was at 22,585 points, down 0.3 % from Friday’s close. The strongest performers in the index were Brenntag, BASF and Zalando, while the lowest‑moving shares were SAP, Bayer and Airbus.
CMC Markets’ chief market analyst Andreas Lipkow commented that investors are following the “news tennis” between Iran and the United States, reacting only on a case‑by‑case basis to developments. The situation in the Middle East remains opaque, and market tickers have been driven first by energy prices and then by the broader equity markets.
Lipkow added that investors are also watching the direct effects on consumption and price trends in the United States and Europe. It remains unclear when rising oil and gas costs will begin to alter consumer behaviour and dampen economic momentum. European purchasing‑manager indices released today paint a mixed picture but largely lie within the expansionary zone. The second half of the trading day will focus on U.S. macroeconomic data and further developments in the Middle East.
The euro slipped slightly by mid‑afternoon: one euro was worth 1.1597 USD, and one U.S. dollar was worth 0.8623 EUR.
Meanwhile, Brent crude rose markedly. Around noon German time, a barrel of the North Sea Brent benchmark fetched 101.70 USD, up 1.7 % from the previous trading session’s close.