Thursday May 8, 12:25 PM
German shares lower midday, hit by rising oil prices; losses pared by Q1 results
FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - German shares were slightly lower in midday trade, put under pressure as Brent crude oil hit a new all-time record high of $122.79 per barrel, but an anticipated higher opening on Wall Street and a raft of
largely positive first-quarter earnings reports helped to pare earlier losses.
At 12:55 p.m., the DAX (Xetra: news) was down 19.89 points or 0.28 percent to 7,056.36,
having traded between 7,013.06 and 7,058.85.
The MDAX slipped 27.17 points or 0.28 percent to 9,605.62, while the TecDAX (Xetra: news) shed 0.56 points or 0.07 percent to 846.35. DAX futures were up 44.00
points or 0.62 percent to 7,092.00, while bund futures gained 0.09 points or
0.08 percent at 113.94.
The euro was trading at $1.5347, compared with $1.5310 in morning trade in
London.
'In light of record high oil prices and problems in the financial sector the DAX is holding out remarkably well,' said trader Stefan Soellner from Deutsche Postbank (Xetra: 800100 - news) .
He said that an anticipated advance on Wall Street this afternoon should help local indices and could push them into positive territory this afternoon.
Investors showed reluctance, however, to take major positions ahead of the ECB's interest rate decision expected soon, he said.
Economists predict the central bank will leave interest rates unchanged, with continuing inflation pressures ruling out any move to cut rates in response to slowing growth in the near term.
TUI (Xetra: TUAG00 - news) lost 0.86 euros or 4.77 percent at 17.81 after Exane BNP downgraded its stance to 'neutral' from 'outperform'.
Munich Re shares were 2.97 euros or 2.38 percent lower at 121.67, as dealers said its first-quarter numbers, which included a drop in net profit, were at best unimpressive.
A Frankfurt-based trader said operating and net profit were largely in line
with expectations, but the reinsurance combined ratio was disappointing.
Lufthansa (Xetra: 823212 - news) shed 0.13 euros or 1.95 percent at 6.54, hurt by rising oil
prices.
At the other end of the DAX, ThyssenKrupp (Xetra: 750000 - news) gained 0.81 euros, or 1.79 percent, at 44.39 which traders largely attributed to technical trade reasons.
Deutsche Postbank saw a 0.91 euro, or 1.56 percent, advance to 59.11, as traders and analysts said its first-quarter numbers were in line or
slightly better than expectations.
'Postbank reported net profit somewhat above expectations,' said analyst
Ralf Breuer from WestLB.
'Operational performance was OK, despite the overall tough competitive
environment and the unfavourable shape of the yield curve,' he added.
Deutsche Telekom (Xetra: 555750 - news) added 0.18 euros or 1.56 percent at 11.70, after the telecom giant posted first-quarter figures that were largely in line with expectations.
'Sales were a bit under expectations, net profit came in higher than
expected, while the company confirmed its full-year targets; so all in all in
line with expectations,' said a Frankfurt-based trader.
Adidas (Xetra: 500340 - news) rose 0.53 euros or 1.22 percent at 43.84, after Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS - news) raised its rating on Adidas to 'neutral' from 'sell' and raised its price target to 41.5 euros per share from 39 euros on the back of strong first-quarter results the company posted on Tuesday.
On the MDAX (Xetra: news) , Tognum (Xetra: A0N4P4 - news) fell 1.70 euros or 8.69 percent to 17.76 after reporting disappointing quarterly numbers and after UBS (Virt-X: UBSN.VX - news) downgraded the company to 'neutral' from 'buy'.
At the other end, IVG Immobilien (Xetra: 620570 - news) gained 0.86 euros or 5.06 percent at 17.85, after the MDAX-listed real estate specialist posted strong
first-quarter figures, which traders said were higher than market expectations,
and updated its 2008 guidance.
TecDAX-listed Aixtron (Xetra: 506620 - news) was the weakest tech stock member, down 0.96 euros or 9.32 percent at 9.31 after the company reported a strong drop in sales in its first quarter report.
Nordex added 1.09 euros or 3.91 percent at 29.00 at the other end.
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