German shares lower midday after profit taking and a weak Nikkei close |
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Wed, 10 Jan 2007 13:16
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FRANKFURT (AFX) - German shares disappointed today, pulled by the low close of the Nikkei, concerns over a possible change in interest rates by the European Central Bank tomorrow, and profit taking by investors.Dealers also spoke of a correction move by the market after the strength of the last three trading days.At 12.43 pm, the DAX 30 index was down 59.88 points, or 0.91 pct at 6,554.49 after moving between 6531.25 and 6582.47.The MDAX lost 110.78 points, or 1.17 pct to 9,327.71, while the TecDAX declined 7.91 points, or 1.03 pct to 759.75.The DAX futures contract was down as well, losing 59 points or 0.89 pct at 6,598.00, while bund futures dropped 0.05, or 0.04 pct at 115.70.The euro last traded at 1.29953 usd, against 1.29963 before.ThyssenKrupp and Lufthansa led the index lower.ThyssenKrupp dropped 2.06 at 33.22 after Arcelor Mittal described the lawsuit initiated by the German company as 'entirely without merit.'ThyssenKrupp launched legal action against Arcelor Mittal in December for breaching an agreement to sell it Dofasco as part of the merger of Arcelor and Mittal Steel.Simon Evans, Arcelor Mittal's general counsel said, 'Mittal Steel is not obligated to commence litigation' in which it has 'only a remote prospect of success.'A hearing on ThyssenKrupp's suit is scheduled for tomorrow in Rotterdam.Lufthansa lost 0.56 eur, or 2.51 pct at 21.79 after it was yesterday rumoured to be looking at making acquisitions -- in particular SAS. The airline is due to publish December traffic figures today.Volkswagen lost 1.49 eur, or 1.78 pct at 82.41.BASF declined 1.09 eur, or 1.48 pct at 72.33 after a the company was mentioned as a potential buyer for General Electric Co's plastics unit , worth around 10 bln usd.DaimlerChrysler joined the major decliners, losing 0.60 eur, or 1.28 pct at 46.37 as it reportedly finally reached an agreement on the sale of its EADS stake.On the MDAX, Patrizia Immobilien lost 0.99 eur, or 4.28 pct at 22.16, after it said it plans to expand its capital base by issuing 4.73 mln new shares.Henkel was one of few winners on the DAX, climbing 3.19 eur, or 2.81 pct at 116.80 after Societe Generale upgraded its recommendation to 'buy' from 'sell'.Societe Generale said that the 'stock harbours nearly a 20 pct upside potential on a 12-month horizon' and that earnings are expected to grow at an accelerated rate in 2007 thanks to debt reduction initiated in the final quarter of 2006.RWE was the second sharpest gainer, rising 1.49 eur, or 1.87 pct at 81.33 after Citigroup and HSBC raised their target prices on the stock to 101 eur and 98 eur from 94 and 85 respectively, with HSBC reiterating its 'overweight' recommendation.Commerzbank continued its positive development from yesterday, adding 0.31 eur, or 1.03 at 30.54, after UBS raised the target price to 38 eur from 33 and reiterated its 'buy' recommendation.Infineon increased 0.08 eur, or 0.73 pct at 11.03 after Deutsche Bank raised its target price for the share to 12.80 eur from 11.70 reiterating its 'buy' recommendation, and as Infineon won a contract to supply TomTom's navigation systems with chips.The company confirmed that it and partner Global Locate will supply global positioning chips for TomTom NV car navigation systems, but declined to state how much the order is worth.Bayer AG also gained, climbing 0.13 eur, or 0.32 pct at 40.33.On the MDAX, Merck bucked the downwards trend by adding 1.50 eur, or 1.74 pct at 87.73 after it announced that the phase III study of its colorectal cancer drug Erbitux used in combination with FOLFIRI chemotherapy has met a primary endpoint.newsdesk@afxnews.compk/vbCOPYRIGHTCopyright AFX News Limited 2006. All rights reserved.The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.AFX News and AFX Financial News Logo are registered trademarks of AFX News Limited
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Asian shares close mostly lower on commodity prices, Wall St 