The DAX Index Opens 0.19% Lower

The DAX 40 was down for a second session on Tuesday, falling 0.3% to around 25,930, in line with its European peers. Persistently high oil and gas prices amid continued hostilities in the Middle East fueled inflation worries ahead of this week’s European Central Bank meeting. The ECB is expected to raise borrowing costs by another 25 basis points to 2.5% on Thursday, which would mark the second rate hike this year. The technology sector was the hardest hit, alongside banks, insurers and industrials. Infineon Technologies slumped nearly 3%, making it the worst performer, following a downgrade by Morgan Stanley to "equal weight" from "overweight". Other notable decliners indluded Heidelberg Materials, Continental, Siemens Energy, Adidas, Airbus and Deutsche Bank, with losses ranging between 1%-2%. On the upside, Fresenius SE & Co and Scout24 advanced the most, rising 1.7% and 1.5%, respectively.

The DAX Index is losing 49 points. Losses were led by Infineon (-2.73%), Continental (-2.02%) and HeidelbergCement (-1.79%). Offsetting the fall, top gainers were Fresenius (1.77%), Deutsche Boerse (1.40%) and Beiersdorf (1.08%).

The DAX 40 closed about 0.2% down at 26,006.5 on Monday, halting a three-day winning streak and lagging its regional peers. Sentiment was weighed down by rising oil prices, expectations of higher interest rates, political uncertainty in Europe and weak German industrial data. The AfD’s strong showing in Saxony-Anhalt raised concerns over political stability as it could complicate Chancellor Merz’s economic reform agenda. Meanwhile, the ECB is widely expected to deliver a 25-bps hike to 2.5% on Thursday. Among individual stocks, Qiagen NV led losses, dropping 2.9%, followed by Munchener Ruck, Hannover Ruck, SAP and Rheinmetall, falling between 1.3% and 2.7%. Rate-sensitive Vonovia fell 2.2%, with Goldman Sachs also downgrading the stock from "Buy" to "Neutral". On the upside, Infineon Technologies soared 6.8%, supported by strong demand for semiconductor stocks and a favorable recommendation from Warburg Research.