Frankfurt's DAX 40 lost further ground and fell 0.3% to settle at 24,195 on Wednesday, as geopolitical tensions remained high despite President Trump’s extension of the ceasefire with Iran. Earlier, he said further action would be paused until Iran presented a unified proposal and negotiations concluded. However, the US intends to maintain its naval blockade of Iranian maritime trade, which Tehran sees as a barrier to talks, with reports today of vessel attacks in the region. Deutsche Telekom (-4.5%) underperformed amid skepticism over its merger plans with T-Mobile US. Analysts at Bernstein Research said regulatory hurdles are considerable, adding that T-Mobile shareholders are unlikely to approve the deal without a significant valuation premium. On the upside, Siemens Energy surged 6.6%, driven by strong Q1 figures from peer ABB. Tech Infineon added 3.2%, tracking gains in major global peers. Energy stocks were also in demand, with RWE and E-ON rising 3.2% and 0.8%, respectively.