The Dax followed the record-breaking momentum seen across US, South Korean, and Japanese markets on Wednesday. The German benchmark index opened half a percent higher at 25,324.81 points, closing in on its previous all-time high of 25,507.79. On Tuesday, it had closed nearly one percent lower after the US launched fresh strikes against Iran despite ongoing negotiations.

'Stock markets are currently oscillating between geopolitical jitters over the Iran conflict, interest rate concerns, hopes for diplomatic de-escalation, and growing AI enthusiasm,' commented Timo Emden of analysis firm Emden Research. 'Geopolitical worries quickly fade into the rearview mirror on the trading floor as soon as signals of easing tensions and AI-driven speculation dominate the headlines.'

The rally in the semiconductor sector across the US, South Korea, and Japan pushed shares of Infineon and Aixtron up by approximately 2.5 and 4 percent, respectively, in Frankfurt. This made them among the top performers in the Dax and the mid-cap MDax index.

Conversely, Wacker Chemie shares fell by around two percent. The Bavarian specialty chemicals group has divested a portion of its stake in chip supplier Siltronic. 'Nevertheless, Wacker still retains a holding of approximately 24 percent in Siltronic,' noted one trader.

(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).)