BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - German stocks slipped on Friday amid concerns over a lack of efforts by the U.S. and Iran to de-escalate the Middle East conflict. With Iran keeping Strait of Hormuz effectively closed, oil prices moved higher, continuing to fuel concerns about inflation and interest rates.
Tensions rose after Iran flaunted its tightened grip over the key Strait of Hormuz and U.S. President Donald Trump said he has ordered the Navy to 'shoot and kill any boat' that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump said the United States is not rushing to resolve the conflict with Iran, describing Iran's leadership as being in turmoil.
Media reports suggested that Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf has resigned from U.S. negotiations, signaling a shift toward hardline unity.
The benchmark DAX, which dropped to 23,966.24 earlier in the session, was down 97.91 points or 0.4% at 24,082.73 nearly half an hour past noon.
MTU Aero Engines dropped nearly 5%. E.ON slid 3.7% and Rheinmetall drifted down 3.1%. Scout24, Bayer, Porsche Automobil Holding, Beiersdorf and Heidelberg Materials lost 2%-2.7%.
Continental, Commerzbank, Volkswagen, BMW, Deutsche Bank, Adidas, Siemens Healthineers, Mercedes-Benz, Vonovia, Qiagen, Deutsche Post, Siemens and Daimler Truck Holding also shed notable ground.
SAP climbed nearly 5.5% after the software maker beat first-quarter profit estimates. The company's earnings came in at EUR1.94 billion, or EUR1.66 per share. This compares with EUR1.79 billion, or EUR1.52 per share, last year.
Siemens Energy moved up 1.8%, while Deutsche Telekom and BASF posted modest gains.
In economic news, a report from the Ifo Institute said Germany's Ifo Business Climate Index declined 1.9 points to 84.4 in April, marking its lowest level since May 2020 and falling short of market expectations of 85.5. The decrease was mainly driven by a significant drop in future expectations, which fell to 83.3 from 85.9, highlighting growing concerns about the impact of the ongoing Middle East conflict on Germany's already fragile economic recovery.
Additionally, the assessment of current conditions also worsened, decreasing to 85.4 from 86.7.
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