DAX Falls 0.8% As Tech Sell-off, Middle East Tensions Hurt Stocks

(RTTNews) - German stocks fell on Friday amid concerns about escalating tensions and a sell-off in the tech space on AI-driven jitters.

Oil prices climbed higher as Tehran launched strikes against several countries across the Gulf and wider region following a fresh wave of strikes by the U.S. against Iran amidst a row over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Brent crude futures climbed to $85.88 a barrel, gaining nearly 2%, before easing slightly to $85.70 a barrel.

The benchmark DAX was down 203.10 points or 0.81% at 24,663.36 about a quarter before noon.

Infineon Technologies plunged nearly 5.5%. Hochtief and Siemens fell 3.7% and 3.3%, respectively. Siemens Energy shed 2.9% and Deutsche Bank drifted down by 2.6%.

Daimler Truck Holding, Continental, MTU Aero Engines, Brenntag, Scout24, Merck, Commerzbank, Symrise, Adidas and Bayer lost 1%-2%. Heidelberg Materials, Volkswagen and Deutsche Bank posted moderate losses.

Deutsche Telekom moved up 2.3%. Rheinmetall climbed 2.1% and E.ON advanced 1.5%. Munich RE, Qiagen, BMW, Hannover RE and SAP gained 0.5%-1%.

In economic news, Eurozone inflation slowed to a three-month low in June, Eurostat confirmed today. Inflation softened to 2.8f% rom 3.2% in May. This was the lowest rate since March and matched the flash estimate released on July 1.

Similarly, core inflation that excludes energy, food, alcohol and tobacco, eased to 2.4%, in line with estimate, from 2.6% in the prior month.

On a monthly basis, the harmonized index of consumer prices edged down 0.1% in June.

Data from the European Central Bank showed the euro area current account surplus rose to EUR 25 billion in May from EUR 17 billion in the previous month. In the same period last year, the surplus was EUR 26 billion.

In the twelve months to May, the current account surplus totaled EUR 272 billion or 1.7% of GDP, down from EUR 318 billion or 2% a year earlier.