The Dax is set to open higher on Wednesday, according to price action in the futures markets. On Tuesday, the German benchmark index closed 1.7 percent higher at 24,401.70 points. Major stock exchanges turned positive following a series of surprisingly strong corporate earnings reports, with Wall Street hitting new all-time highs. However, ongoing concerns regarding the situation in the Middle East limited the gains.

Overnight into Wednesday, US President Donald Trump reportedly suspended military escorts for commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. He justified the move by citing progress toward a comprehensive agreement with Iran, though he emphasized that the US blockade of Iranian ports would remain fully in place. No statement from the government in Tehran was available as of early Wednesday morning.

On the corporate front, the quarterly earnings season continues. Investors are looking ahead to financial reports from Infineon, Zalando, Daimler Truck, BMW, and Lufthansa, among others. Regarding economic data, the European Purchasing Managers' Indices (PMI) for the services sector in April and producer prices for March are scheduled for release.

Closing levels of European Level  

Stock Indices and

Futures on Tuesday

Dax 24,401.70    

EuroStoxx50 5,869.63    

EuroStoxx50 Future 5,838.00    

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Closing levels of Level Change in

US Indices on Tuesday Percent

Dow Jones 49,298.25   +0.7%  

Nasdaq 

S&P 500  7,259.22   +0.8%  

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Asian Indices on Price at 07:00 Change in

Wednesday CET Percent

Nikkei  No Trading  

Shanghai 4,164.42   +1.3%  

Hang Seng 26,114.07   +0.8%  

(Report by Sanne Schimanski, edited by Christian Götz. For inquiries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and economics) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)