FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX): U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to call off a military strike against Iran led to a retreat in oil prices on Friday, providing significant momentum for the German stock market at the opening bell. The Dax climbed 1.4 percent to 24,540 points in the first minutes of trading. This move allowed the benchmark index to distance itself once again from its 200-day moving average, which it had briefly slipped below the previous day.

The MDax gained 1.6 percent on Friday morning to reach 31,956 points. Meanwhile, the EuroStoxx 50, the leading index for the eurozone, rose by 1.3 percent.

Even if reports of an imminent peace agreement between the U.S. and Iran have been overemphasized in recent weeks, investors are anticipating a potential settlement and are buying into the equity market, noted analyst Andreas Lipkow of CMC Markets./edh/jha/