FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) — After three consecutive days of losses, the DAX staged a strong rebound on Friday. Market observers pointed to tentative hopes for a negotiated solution in the conflict between Israel and Iran as a driving factor.
After posting even stronger gains earlier in the session, Germany's leading index ended trading up 1.27 percent at 23,350.55 points. This limited its weekly loss to 0.7 percent. The MDAX, which tracks mid-cap companies, recovered by 0.84 percent to close at 29,365.17 points on Friday.
Movements in share prices may also have been influenced by the so-called "triple witching day," which took place this Friday. The term refers to days when options and futures contracts on indices and individual stocks expire simultaneously on derivatives exchanges. Such days often see heightened volatility, especially among heavyweight stocks within the relevant indices.
The Eurozone benchmark EuroStoxx 50 ultimately rose by 0.7 percent. The SMI in Zurich finished unchanged in percentage terms, while London's FTSE 100 slipped by 0.2 percent. Major US stock indices showed no clear direction by the close of European trading./gl/he
