DAX Soars Nearly 5% As Stocks Rally On U.S.-Iran Ceasefire News

(RTTNews) - German stocks moved up sharply Wednesday morning, with investors going on a buying spree across the board, reacting to news about Iran and the U.S. agreeing to a two-week ceasefire that will help ensure stability in the critical energy corridor in the Gulf region.

The ceasefire calls for Israel and Hezbollah to halt fighting in Lebanon. Trump said he was holding off on his threatened attacks on Iranian bridges and power plants.

Oil prices tanked, with the Brent crude futures for June plunging nearly 14% to around $90 a barrel amid hopes of resumption in oil and gas flows through the Strait of Hormuz.

Germany's benchmark index DAX, which surged about 5%, was up 1,067.07 points or 4.65% at 24,004.72 nearly half an hour before noon.

Infineon Technologies soared nearly 11%. Siemens Energy zoomed 10.3%. Commerzbank, Heidelberg Materials and Siemens surged 9.5%-10%.

MTU Aero Engines, Continental, Vonovia, Zalando, Deutsche Bank, Daimler Truck Holding, Volkswagen, Adidas, SAP, Merck, Siemens Healthineers and Porsche Automobil rallied 5%-8%.

BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Scout24, Deutsche Post, Beiersdorf, Henkel, Fresenius, Qiagen, Gea Group, Fresenius Medical Care, Allianz, Rheinmetall, Symrise and Bayer also moved up sharply.

Shares of drug discovery and development company Evotec soared nearly 10% after reporting full-year results that fell in line with expectations. The company also reiterated its earnings outlook.

Deutsche Boerse tumbled more than 3%. Brenntag, RWE, E.ON, BASF and Hannover Rueck lost 0.8%-1.7%.

In economic news, Germany's construction sector shrank at a slower pace in March and the outbreak of war in the Middle East intensified cost pressures, survey results from S&P Global showed. The construction Purchasing Managers' Index rose to 48.0 in March from 43.7 in February.

Germany's factory orders recovered in February, albeit at a slower than expected pace, ahead of the war in Iran, data from Destatis revealed.. Driven by the substantial growth in the auto industry, factory orders grew 0.9% on a monthly basis in February, in contrast to the 11.1% decline in January. Orders were forecast to expand 3%.