Frankfurt’s DAX 40 slipped 0.8% to around 25,240 in early trading on Wednesday, breaking a three-session winning streak, as a renewed rise in oil prices and persistently high bond yields weighed on sentiment. Brent crude climbed back above $100 a barrel after Iran intensified attacks on tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz, stoking inflation concerns and heightening the risk of further interest rate increases.
Investors are now focused on the Federal Reserve’s meeting minutes, due later in the day, for signals on the future path of US interest rates. Providing a partial offset, German industrial production surprised to the upside, rising 2.0% month-on-month in August, far above the 0.5% increase expected, sustaining hopes of a nascent economic recovery.
On the corporate front, Infineon shares fell 3.6%, Siemens Energy dropped 2.0%, Deutsche Bank declined 1.3%, and Vonovia also lost 1.3%.