German shares close at six year high UPDATE

German shares close at six year high UPDATE

	Published : Fri, 19 Jan 2007 18:32 By : Agencies Print this Story

(Updating with full report)

FRANKFURT (AFX) - German shares closed higher today after a flat development in the afternoon. Positive economic growth data from the US and the expiry of several options pushed the DAX to a six year high.

The DAX closed 57.55 points higher, or 0.86 pct, at 6,747.17, having traded between 6,651.68 and 6,754.55 throughout the day.

The MDAX added 103.88 points or 1.09 pct to 9653.99, but the TecDAx lost, dropping 2.09 points or 0.26 pct to 791.18.

The DAX futures contract gained 76.00 points or 1.13 pct to 6,781.50.

Bund futures were largely flat, down 0.10 points or 0.09 pct at 115.29

The euro last traded at 1.2960 usd from a previous 1.2940.

Deutsche Boerse was again the top performer, clocking 7.85 eur or 5.02 pct to 164.30 as the market speculated over a possible restructuring, traders said.

Although the reorganisation is being described by Frankfurt traders as an 'interesting option for potential partners', the source clarified: 'A restructuring is being mulled to increase the efficiency of the company, but under no circumstances is a breakup being considered.'

Commerzbank closed 1.41 eur or 4.48 pct higher at 32.89 as rumours emerged that Merrill Lynch is planning to launch an offer for Commerzbank valued at 38 eur per share next week.

Frankfurt-based traders were unimpressed, stating this was a typical 'Friday afternoon rumour' and not worth taking too seriously.

Car giant Daimler Chrysler added 1.82 eur or 3.87 pct to 48.82 with its shares receiving an upgrade to 'overweight' from 'equal weight' by Morgan Stanley and a target price lift to 55 eur, implying 18 pct upside.

Meanwhile peers Volkswagen and BMW rose 0.32 eur or 0.38 pct to 85.01 and 0.01 eur or 0.02 pct to 45.40 respectively.

Hypo Real Estate gained throughout the day, closing 1.33 eur or 2.58 pct up at 52.80.

Infineon was the major decliner on the DAX, dropping 0.23 eur or 2.07 pct to 10.86, as IBM posted fourth quarter results that were seen as 'disappointing' by investors and led to concerns that earnings in the technology sector are not living up to expectations, traders said.

ThyssenKrupp followed, with its shares closing 0.21 eur down or 0.58 pct at 36.08, as investors took profits following the steel conglomerate's consensus-beating first quarter, analysts said.

Prior to today's AGM, ThyssenKrupp announced first-quarter pre-tax profits of around 1.0 bln eur, beating the 839 mln eur consensus of analyst estimates.

The company also said it is confident its full-year pre-tax profit will exceed 2.5 bln eur.

SAP also declined, 0.23 eur or 0.60 pct to 37.83.

Shares in Deutsche Postbank underperformed its index, adding only 0.12 eur or 0.50 pct to 23.98 as Goldman Sachs removed the company from its Pan-Europe Conviction Buy list after Postbank outperformed its closest peers in the past 12 months.

The broker did however reiterate its 'buy' rating and stated that fundamentals remain strong.

On the MDAX, Hochtief gained 3.10 eur or 5.84 pct to 56.20 as Dresdner Kleinwort raised its target price to 71,54 eur from 54,96.

Premiere lost the most at the end of the day, declining 0.12 eur or 0.87 pct to 13.65.

Adva AG was the biggest gainer on the TecDAX, adding 0.28 eur or 3.50 pct to 8.27, contrary to Nordex, which lost throughout the day, closing 0.50 eur or 2.97 pct lower at 16.36.

patrizia.kokot@thomson.com

pk/lam

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