FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The Dax is struggling to maintain the momentum from its strong start to the week. Broker IG pegged the German benchmark index 0.3 percent lower at 24,238 points on Tuesday, approximately two and a half hours before the Xetra open. The previous day, the Dax had initially slumped to 23,797 points under the weight of high oil prices, before staging a sharp reversal to hold its closely watched 200-day moving average.
By early Monday afternoon, hopes of a rapprochement between the US and Iran suddenly emerged, which at least checked the rise in oil prices. On Monday evening, US President Trump announced that he had called off a strike on Iran allegedly planned for Tuesday. Several Gulf states had requested he do so, and 'serious negotiations' with Tehran were underway, Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform.
However, the retreat of the US S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 indices from their recent records amid the AI rally continued - albeit to a lesser extent. Mixed Asian markets are also failing to provide any impetus for Europe this morning. On a more positive note, elevated oil prices have eased slightly./ag/zb
