The renewed escalation of the military conflict between the U.S. and Iran weighed on the Dax on Thursday. Germany’s benchmark index fell 0.2% to 24,155 points. The war in the Middle East is once again setting the tone for markets, said Thomas Altmann of QC Partners. Following U.S. airstrikes in the region, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they recently attacked U.S. aircraft at the Al-Asrak base in Jordan with twelve ballistic missiles. Brent crude and U.S. oil WTI rose as much as 2.6% and 4% respectively to $95.50 and $93.64 a barrel.

Despite the military clashes, diplomatic efforts to end the war are still continuing. As recently as Wednesday, the foreign ministry spokesperson in Tehran, Esmaeil Baghaei, said Iran would have to reassess its talks with the U.S. after the latest attacks.

Alongside geopolitics, the European Central Bank (ECB) is also in focus. Economists and financial market experts are firmly expecting policymakers to raise the deposit rate this afternoon from 2.0% to 2.25% as inflation picks up, the first rate hike in almost three years.

On the corporate side, SAP moved into the spotlight. Sour sentiment in the software sector after Oracle’s share slide pushed SAP shares on the Dax down about 4%. Oracle unsettled investors with its sweeping financing plans. In after-hours U.S. trading, the stock fell by nearly 9%.

In the MDax, investors snapped up Hugo Boss. UK anchor shareholder Frasers Group is offering Hugo Boss shareholders €38.00 per share. The stock rose as much as 7% to €39.

(Reported by: Daniela Pegna. Edited by Olaf Brenner. For inquiries, please contact our newsroom at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)