DAX Extends Losses To 3rd Straight Session

(RTTNews) - Germany's equity benchmark DAX is down in negative territory a little before noon on Friday, extending losses to a third straight session, as investors continue to weigh the economic impact of the ongoing war in the Middle East.

Bank and auto stocks are among the notable losers.

The tensions in the Gulf region and the resultant surge in oil prices continue to fuel inflation worries and possible rate hike moves by central banks.

The DAX, which fell to 23,283.70 earlier in the session, was down 101.17 points or 0.43% at 23,471.35 a little while ago.

Siemens Energy is down 2.7%, Henkel is declining by about 2.5% and Volkswagen is down 2%. Adidas, Deutsche Post and Porsche Automobil Holding are lower by 1.5%-1.75%.

Commerzbank, BMW, Siemens, Mercedes-Benz, MTU Aero Engines, Gea Group, Vonovia, Siemens, Bayer, Deutsche Bank and Heidelberg Materials are down 0.6%-1.1%.

Zalando is up 7.3%, extending previous session's sharp upmove. Rheinmetall is gaining 2.3% and Qiagen is rising 1.3%.

Hannover Re, RWE, Allianz and Continental are up 0.8%-1%. E.ON, Deutsche Telekom and BASF are up with modest gains.

In economic news, Germany's wholesale prices rose 1.2% year-on-year in February, matching the pace recorded in the previous two months and marking the 15th consecutive increase, data from federal statistical office Destatis showed.

On a monthly basis, wholesale prices went up 0.6%, slowing from 0.9% in January but exceeding market forecasts of a 0.4% rise.