German shares gain 0.78 pct at start of Thursday trading

Source: Xinhua | 2020-05-01

German stocks were off to a good start on Thursday, with the benchmark DAX index growing by 87.47 points, or 0.78 percent, opening at 11,195.21 points.

The biggest winner among Germany's largest 30 companies at the start of trading was German aircraft engine manufacturer MTU Aero Engines, increasing by 3.50 percent, followed by sportswear manufacturer Adidas with 2.49 percent and chipmaker Infineon with 2.41 percent.

On Thursday, MTU announced that revenues in the first quarter of 2020 increased by 13 percent year-on-year to approximate 1.3 billion euros (1.4 billion U.S. dollars). Operating profit declined by 3 percent to 181.8 million euros.

Shares in Munich Re fell sharply by 5.21 percent after its revenue forecast for 2020 of 2.8 billion euros on Wednesday was canceled, making the German reinsurer the biggest loser at the start of trading on Thursday.

On Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the minister presidents of the country's federal states are scheduled to discuss the easing of restrictions during the coronavirus crisis in Germany.

Turnover of retail companies in Germany decreased by 1.5 percent in March year-on-year, based on provisional results released by Germany's Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) Thursday.

The yield on German ten-year bonds went down by 0.025 percentage points to minus 0.509 percent, while the euro was trading almost unchanged at 1.0876 U.S. dollars, increasing slightly by 0.01 percent on Thursday morning.