Following the recent market fireworks, a sense of sobriety is expected to take hold of the German equity market on Thursday. According to calculations by banks and brokerages, the Dax is poised for a lower opening. Buoyed by the announcement of a two-week ceasefire in the Iran conflict, the index surged 5.1 percent on Wednesday to close at 24,080 points. However, the agreement appears to be on shaky ground, undermined by the heaviest Israeli strikes on Lebanon to date on Wednesday. Oil prices edged higher again on Thursday; hopes for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz had previously pushed prices below 100 dollars per barrel. Furthermore, minutes from the Federal Reserve's latest meeting revealed that a growing number of members believe a rate hike may be necessary to curb inflation.

On the domestic front, export and production data will provide insight into how the German economy fared prior to the outbreak of the Middle East conflict. From the U.S., personal income figures and the PCE price index are due for release.

In corporate news, Gerresheimer is set to be removed from the small-cap SDax index as of Thursday evening. The packaging group failed to submit its annual financial statements for the 2024/25 fiscal year within the mandatory four-month period.

Closing levels of European Level  

Stock Indices and

Futures on Wednesday

Dax 24,080.63    

EuroStoxx50 5,913.37    

EuroStoxx50-Future 5,838.00    

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Closing levels of Level Change in

U.S. Indices on Wednesday Percent

Dow Jones 47,909.92   +2.9%  

Nasdaq 

S&P 500  6,782.81   +2.5%  

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Asian Indices on Level at 07:00 Change in

Thursday CET Percent

Nikkei  55,846.96   -0.8%  

Shanghai 3,965.70   -0.7%  

Hang Seng 25,801.87   -0.3%  

(Report by Anika Ross. For inquiries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and economics) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for corporate and markets).)