Frankfurt’s DAX 40 slipped back into negative territory on Friday, declining 0.5% to around 23,480 amid persistent volatility linked to the conflict in the Middle East. Investor sentiment turned more cautious ahead of the weekend as tense rhetoric between Washington and Tehran dampened hopes for de-escalation and reignited concerns over a prolonged energy crisis. Industrials and banks came under the most pressure, while utilities outperformed. Among individual stocks, Siemens Energy, Volkswagen, MTU Aero Engines and Siemens were the weakest performers, falling between 2% and 5.3%.