FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX): President Donald Trump's decision to call off a planned strike against Iran is offering investors renewed hope for an end to the conflict this Friday. Consequently, oil prices are retreating while equity markets climb: two hours before the opening bell, broker IG signaled a 1.6 percent gain for the Dax, positioning it at 24,607 points. This move should allow the benchmark index to distance itself from its 200-day moving average, which has recently served as a key support level.

Trump canceled the strikes against Iran originally scheduled for Thursday evening, once again suggesting that a framework agreement is imminent. "We have just reached a great deal in the war with Iran," Trump claimed at the White House. He noted that the documents should be finalized shortly and could potentially be signed in Europe as early as this weekend. However, denials have already emerged from Iran.

As the trading day progresses, the spotlight shifts to the record-breaking U.S. IPO of SpaceX, which is expected to be followed soon by AI platforms Anthropic and OpenAI. With a valuation of nearly $1.8tn, Elon Musk's aerospace company is immediately worth more than Facebook parent Meta, despite financial figures that stand in stark contrast to such a market cap. According to Eckhard Schulte of MainSky Asset Management, the success of these initial public offerings is crucial to confirming the continued vitality of the AI investment narrative./tih/jha/