-- Germany's blue-chip DAX index reversed last week's winning streak, closing 1.04% in the red on Monday, amid renewed friction between the US and Iran.
A US naval interception of an Iranian cargo ship on Monday triggered a vow of retaliation from Tehran, which also reinstated restrictions on the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend amid the US' continued blockade of Iranian ports. As Tuesday's ceasefire expiration looms, Iran threatened to boycott the anticipated second round of negotiations, demanding an immediate end to the closure of its ports as a prerequisite for talks.
"Oil prices rebounded, with Brent crude trading at USD 95 [per barrel] this morning, as the market digested the turmoil around the Strait of Hormuz. The market is likely to stay volatile this week as US and Iran will try and negotiate a deal. If oil does not start flowing through the strait soon, oil prices are likely to rise further and above USD 100/bbl again," Danske Bank said.
In local economic news, Destatis reported that producer prices ticked down 0.2% year over year in March, compared with a 3.3% decline earlier. The German Federal Statistical Office attributed the year-on-year decline to energy price adjustments. On a monthly basis, the index was up 2.5% in March 2026, marking the biggest month-over-month rise in producer prices since August 2022.
On the corporate side, Commerzbank (CBK.F) shares moved 1.33% higher, as significant shareholder UniCredit unveiled a value-creation plan for the German bank. Seeking to boost 2028 net profit to 5.1 billion euros, versus Commerzbank's 4.5 billion-euro goal, UniCredit urged a faster transformation, claiming the current management is "insufficiently prepared" for future challenges and too focused on short-term delivery.
Meanwhile, Deutsche Bank Research trimmed buy-rated SAP's (SAP.F) price target to 200 euros from 220 euros, as part of a report focused on the European software and information technology services sector. The German software company was the DAX's second-biggest loser during the session, shedding 3.28%.
"The European and global Software sector has seen some recovery of share prices over the last days which we see as a result of very negative positioning going into earnings season. While this is somewhat of a relief following the derating of the last months, we retain our selective approach and overall more cautious stance on the space. We expect new releases of OpenAI, Google and other models during Q2, which represent further headline risks to the sector, while established Software companies need to transform themselves (further) in order to deliver maximum value from AI solutions to their customers in a rapidly evolving technology landscape. Lastly, geopolitical and macro headwinds from the war in Iran are likely to impact also Enterprise customer confidence as we have seen when Russia attacked Ukraine or during the 2025 'trade war,'" the research firm said.