DAX Retreats After Firm Start As Growth Concerns Weigh

(RTTNews) - After a fairly sharp upmove earlier in the session, German market's equity index DAX fell into negative territory on Friday with stocks lacking support at higher levels due to concerns about the near to medium term impact of the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

A slight retreat by oil following the efforts by the U.S. and Israel to ease concerns about ongoing fuel supply issues supported the market early on in the session. However, oil prices rebounded subsequently, rendering the mood cautious.

Recent hawkish statements from major central banks, including the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank also appear to be weighing on sentiment.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said U.S. President Donald Trump had requested that there be no further attacks on the Iranian gas field.

Trump suggested that he has no plans to deploy American troops to the Middle East. To increase oil supply and bring down energy prices, U.S. officials said Washington may soon lift sanctions on Iranian oil stranded in tankers.

The DAX, which climbed to 23,175.77 earlier, gaining nearly 330 points in the process, dropped to a low of 22,690.77 before recovering to 22,770.77, but remains in negative territory with a loss of 81.71 points or 0.36%.

Among major gainers, Infineon Technologies is up 3.75% and Heidelberg Materials is rising 3.5%, while Bayer is up 2.85%.

Commerzbank, Continental, Deutsche Post, Volkswagen and Brenntag are up 1%-1.6%. Vonovia, BMW and BASF are gaining nearly 1%. Beiersdorf, RWE, Porsche Automobil Holding, Mercedes-Benz and Henkel are up with modest gains.

Zalando is declining by about 2.1%. Gea Group, Fresenius Medical Care, Deutsche Boerse, Scout24, Rheinmetall and Qiagen are down 1.4%-1.9%.

Hannover RE, SAP, Symrise, MTU Aero Engines, Munich RE and Deutsche Telekom are also notably lower.

In economic news, Germany's producer prices declined more than expected in February largely due to the sharp fall in energy prices, data from Destatis showe.

Producer prices logged an annual fall of 3.3% in February, slower than the 3% decrease seen in January. On a monthly basis, producer prices dropped 0.5%, confounding expectations for an increase of 0.3%.