German stocks advanced on Thursday, with a US$2 trillion American Jobs Plan for infrastructure and encouraging manufacturing data helping underpin investor sentiment ahead of Easter holidays.
The benchmark DAX rose 89 points, or 0.6 percent, to hover near a record high at 15,097.
Infineon Technologies gained 1.5 percent and Dialog Semiconductor rose 0.6 percent after U.S. chipmaker Micron Technology Inc forecast third-quarter revenue above analysts’ forecasts.
Delivery Hero shares jumped 3.3 percent after Dutch tech investment company Prosus NV raised its stake in the online food ordering company.
Telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom was marginally higher after confirming its outlook for 2020.
Henkel was moving lower. The chemicals and consumer goods group said it expects organic sales growth in the first quarter 2021 of around 7 percent, which is significantly above the current market expectation of around 3.5 percent.
Aareal Bank gained 1.5 percent after Petrus Advisers increased its shareholding in the company.
In economic news, German retail sales grew for the first time in three months in February but the pace of expansion was slower than economists’ expected, data from Destatis revealed.
Retail sales rose 1.2 percent month-on-month in February, reversing a 6.5 percent fall in January. Economists had forecast sales to grow at a faster pace of 2 percent. This was the first increase in three months.
On a yearly basis, retail sales decreased 9 percent after easing 9.3 percent in the previous month. Economists had forecast a 6.3 percent drop.
German factory activity grew at the fastest pace on record in March, a survey showed. IHS Markit’s Final Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for manufacturing reached 66.6, matching the record flash reading.
DAX Rises On Economic Optimism
2021-04-01 09:05:18
