German Stocks Little Changed as European Central Bank Raises Key Rates
German equities were little changed on Thursday, with the blue-chip DAX index closing 0.06% higher, as investors assessed the European Central Bank's latest monetary policy decision.In the widely expected move, the ECB hiked its three key interest rates by 25 basis points, citing inflationary pressures amid the Middle East conflict. The central bank's Governing Council also reiterated its data-dependent approach to rate decisions, noting continued uncertainty amid ongoing global trade disputes and geopolitical tensions."Fortunately, the case for further rate hikes is not cast in stone. Amid major volatility and some on-off negotiations between Iran and the US, the price for dated Brent crude has receded from an average of $120 per barrel in April to $108 in May and $98 so far in June. If, big if, tensions ease and energy prices recede further on trend before the ECB meeting on 23 July, as we assume, the ECB should have no reason to raise rates again in July or September, in our view," Berenberg noted.On the US-Iran war, Reuters reported, citing Iranian insiders, that negotiations on a preliminary agreement "intensified" even as the two nations continued to trade air attacks. According to unnamed European and Iranian sources, Washington and Tehran were working on details of a memorandum after reaching a "political understanding," while critical issues, notably the release of frozen Iranian assets, are still being discussed.Back home, Germany posted a current account surplus of 13.8 billion euros in April, down by 10.7 billion euros month over month. Bundesbank attributed the latest reading to lower surpluses in merchandise trade and so-called invisible current account transactions.In corporate news, Hugo Boss (BOSS.F) was up 9.05% on Xetra after Frasers Group announced a voluntary public takeover bid for the remaining shares of the German fashion brand. Currently owning a 26.06% stake, the British sports and luxury retailer is offering 38 euros per share, valuing the buyout at 1.98 billion euros."At EUR 38.00 per share, the offer price is only slightly above the last closing price and looks opportunistic. It offers little in the way of a control premium and does not fully reflect the brand value, cash-flow potential or possible normalization beyond the current reset year. We therefore view the offer as financially unattractive for long-term shareholders," mwb Research wrote.Meanwhile, German software group SAP (SAP.F) was the DAX's worst performer, dropping 6.55%, after its cloud computing peer Oracle's planned fiscal 2027 capital expenditure of up to $95 billion surpassed market expectations.