European Markets Open with Caution Amid Iran-Israel Tensions
The German Dax index opened the trading day with a cautious start, slipping into the red zone by midday. As of 12:30 pm, the benchmark index was calculated at around 23,285 points, a 0.3 percent decline from the previous Friday’s close. Heidelberg Materials, FMC and Infineon led the stock market’s top performers, while Rheinmetall, Brenntag and Munich Re closed the list.
Market experts attribute the cautious approach to the high risk of being caught off guard by a new escalation in the Iran-Israel conflict. “The threat of significantly higher oil prices is driving the current concerns” said Andreas Lipkow, a market expert.
The euro was slightly stronger against the US dollar, trading at 1.1477 dollars per euro, with the dollar valued at 0.8713 euros. Meanwhile, the oil price rose, with a barrel of Brent crude from the North Sea costing around 77.60 US dollars at 12 pm German time, a 0.8 percent increase from the previous day’s close.