Israel and Lebanon agreed to a ten-day ceasefire on Thursday. This could remove a major obstacle to a broader peace agreement in the Middle East. According to US President Donald Trump, negotiating delegations from the US and Iran could potentially meet again as early as this weekend.
The deep-seated skepticism among many investors was also evident in the oil market. Prices for North Sea Brent and US WTI crude eased only slightly to 98.73 and 93.66 dollars per barrel, respectively. Concrete evidence is still needed that the cessation of hostilities will be lasting, said Nick Twidale, Chief Market Strategist at ATFX Global. "For me, such proof would be the full reopening of the Strait of Hormuz." The Iranian blockade of the strait, through which a fifth of global oil exports are transported, has caused oil prices to skyrocket since the start of the war in late February. At times, Brent and WTI prices brushed against the 120-dollar mark.
Among the top gainers on the Dax in the opening minutes were shares of Deutsche Börse, up 2.2 percent. In the MDax, Delivery Hero shares rose as much as 6.4 percent. The US ride-hailing service Uber is increasing its stake in the food delivery company to around seven percent. Aurubis fell by a good three percent. Analysts at Kepler Cheuvreux downgraded the stock to "Hold" from "Buy."
(Reported by: Daniela Pegna, edited by Ralf Banser. For inquiries, please contact our editorial office at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and economics) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)
