(RTTNews) - German stocks moved up sharply on Wednesday amid rising hopes of a de-escalation in tensions in the Middle East.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the Iran war could end in two weeks sans a deal to re-open the Hormuz, bringing a much-needed relief to markets roiled by the conflict.
Although oil prices drifted lower, analysts are of the view that it could take six to eight weeks more for oil flows to normalize.
"Even if that peace is here tomorrow, still we will not go back to normal in a foreseeable future," the European Union's energy commissioner told a news conference after a meeting of EU energy ministers.
The benchmark DAX, which surged to 23,353.72, was up 527.04 points or 2.33% at 23,160.22 a little while ago.
Rheinmetall climbed nearly 6%. Siemens Energy gained about 4.85% and Commerzbank rallied 4.5%, while Deutsche Bank moved up 4%.
Vonovia, Continental, Heidelberg Materials, Siemens, Infineon Technologies and MTU Aero Engines gained 2.3%-4%.
E.ON, Deutsche Post, RWE, Allianz, Porsche Automobil Holding, Daimler Truck Holding, Volkwagen, Gea Group, Merck, SAP, Henkel and Deutsche Telekom also posted strong gains.
BASF drifted down 2.7%. Scout24 eased by about 2.2%. Brenntag, Hannover Rueck, Fresenius and Siemens Healthineers posted modest losses.
Germany's manufacturing sector grew the most since May 2022, underpinned by output and new orders in March. The main driver of the rise in the index was suppliers' delivery times index. However, cost pressures intensified amid the war. The final manufacturing PMI posted 52.2 compared to 50.9 in the previous month and the flash score of 51.7.
The euro area manufacturing sector expanded at the fastest pace since mid-2022 in March, driven by increases in both production and new orders but the war in the Middle East disrupted global logistics and intensified price pressures.
The final manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index climbed to a 45-month high of 51.6 in March from 50.8 in February and remained moderately above the flash estimate of 51.4.
The euro area unemployment rate rose slightly in February, data from Eurostat showed. The unemployment rate rose to 6.2% from 6.1% in January. In the same period last year, the jobless rate was 6.3%. Economists had forecast the rate to remain at 6.1% in February.
In the EU, the unemployment rate was stable at 5.9% in February. Meanwhile, the youth unemployment rate rose slightly to 15.3% from 15.2%t a month ago.
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