(RTTNews) - After a slightly weak start, German stocks recovered and moved into positive territory on Friday as oil prices fell on reports the U.S. and Iran have agreed to extend their ceasefire by sixty days.
According to the tentative agreement, pending final approval from U.S. President Donald Trump, Iran would not be able to impose tolls on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, while the U.S. would gradually lift its sea blockade on Iranian ports.
Brent crude oil futures dropped to around $90.70 a barrel before recovering to $91.05, still down by about 1.8% from previous close.
The benchmark DAX, which slipped to 25,079.64 earlier in the session, climbed to 25,203.93 before easing to 25,165.74, up 63.13 points or 0.25% from previous close.
Zalando gained 2.75%. Heidelberg Materials moved up 2.3%, while MTU Aero Engines and Continental climbed 2% and 1.85%, respectively.
Scout24, Adidas, Infineon Technologies, Merck, Qiagen, Beiersdorf, Henkel, Porsche Automobil Holdings, Brenntag, Fresenius Medical Care, Volkswagen, Gea Group and Siemens Healthineers gained 1%-1.5%.
Bayer drifted down 2.7% and Siemens Energy shed 1.9%, while Deutsche Bank lost 1.7%. Deutsche Boerse, Siemens and RWE declined marginally.
In economic news, Germany's import prices increased at the fastest pace since early 2023 in April due to the sharp increases in energy and intermediate goods prices amid the war in the Middle East, data from Destatis showed.
Import prices grew 5.3% year-on-year in April after rising 2.3% in the previous month. This was the fastest growth since January 2023 and also marked the second consecutive rise. On a monthly basis, import prices climbed 1.2%, slower than the 3.6% increase a month ago.
Export prices posted an annual growth of 2.9% in April, which was the strongest rise since March 2023. This was followed by the 1.5% rise in March. Month-on-month, export prices were up 0.8%.
Germany's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 6.3% in May, down from April's near six-year high of 6.4%, slightly beating market expectations, data from the Federal Employment Agency showed.
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