-- Germany's blue-chip DAX index closed Friday lower by 0.11%, as investors weighed the stalled US-Iran peace talks against the latest round of corporate earnings and trading updates.
As the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, tensions linger between Washington and Tehran, with no signs of further talks on the horizon. US President Donald Trump said he is willing to wait for an "everlasting" peace deal, even as he authorized the US Navy to fire on mine-laying boats in the embattled waterway.
Against this backdrop, the ifo Institute's business climate indicator fell to 84.4 points in April 2026 from the revised 86.3 points earlier, below the consensus estimate of 85.7 points on Investing.com. The latest reading marked the index's lowest level since May 2020, with both the current situation index and expectations indicator falling from a month ago and missing market expectations.
"The war in the Middle East and soaring energy prices have again exposed the fact that Germany is one of Europe's largest net importers of energy. ... With the war in the Middle East now gradually shifting from a pure energy price shock towards an energy supply and broader supply chain shock, the German economy is once again at the centre of an exogenous, global, disruption," ING said. "All of this said, even if sentiment is suffering enormous setbacks right now and fears of another year of stagnation have returned, it should be clear that the planned investments in defence and infrastructure are still on track and should support the economy this year and beyond. The fiscal impulse is real, it just needs time to reach the real economy."
On the corporate front, SAP (SAP.F) gained 4.68%, rising to the top of the blue-chip index, after reporting an increase in first-quarter earnings on robust cloud business performance, with total revenue up 6% year over year to 9.56 billion euros. The German software company maintained its full-year 2026 forecasts, including 23% to 25% cloud revenue growth at constant currencies, while noting the outlook remains contingent on the de-escalation of the Middle East conflict.
Meanwhile, BofA Global Research upgraded its price objective and earnings estimates for Siemens Energy (ENR.F) to account for the company's revised fiscal 2026 outlook. The German energy company now projects revenue growth between 14% and 16%, improving upon its previous 11% to 13% estimate, among others.
"We raise our 2026/27 adj EBITA estimates 8/12% after ENR's guide upgrade yesterday (+10/16% vs consensus) and lift our [free cash flow] estimates 40/11% too (+42/37% vs consensus). As a result, we raise our [price objective] to EUR250 from EUR220. Reiterate Buy," the research firm wrote. Siemens Energy was up 2.64% at the end of the last trading day of the week.