German stocks rise, encouraging figures

German stocks rose, led by Deutsche Postbank AG after a report said Commerzbank AG is the government's partner of choice for a merger with the country's biggest consumer bank by clients.

Photo: German stocks rise, encouraging figures

German stocks rise, encouraging figures

Deutsche Boerse AG, operator of the Frankfurt Exchange, gained after Borse Dubai Ltd., the biggest shareholder in rival London Stock Exchange Group Plc, agreed to buy Qatar 's stake in OMX AB and would consider an offer from its Gulf neighbor to sell shares in the London bourse.

The benchmark DAX Index increased 114.54, or 1.7%, to 6,946.97 as of 11:51 a.m. in Frankfurt . The HDAX Index of the country's 110 biggest companies advanced 1.7 %. DAX futures expiring in March climbed 117.50, or 1.7 %, to 6,975.50.

MAN AG, Europe 's third-largest truck maker, and Daimler AG, the world's biggest, paced an advance of stocks sensitive to economic swings.

Postbank, the country's biggest consumer bank by clients, jumped 2.09 EUR, or 3.5%, to 62.53 EUR. Commerzbank , Germany 's second-largest bank, advanced 48 cents, or 2.5 %, to 20.11 EUR.

Commerzbank Chief Executive Officer Klaus-Peter Mueller and his successor, Martin Blessing, have been in discussions with German Chancellor Angela Merkel over a combination with the country's largest consumer bank by clients for several months. No comments were given.

Bank stocks gained across the region after Qatar said it is accumulating shares in Credit Suisse Group and investors speculated two U.K. banks may boost their dividends.

Hypo Real Estate Holding AG, the second-biggest German commercial-property lender, increased 47 cents, or 2.7%, to 17.91 EUR. Deutsche Bank AG, Germany 's largest bank, climbed 1.86 EUR, or 2.5%, to 76.18 EUR.

Deutsche Boerse added 3.54 EUR, or 3.1%, to 117.91 EUR.

State-owned Borse Dubai, which with Nasdaq Stock Market Inc. intends to buy Nordic exchange company OMX, would consider an offer from the Qatar Investment Authority for its stake in LSE though it hasn't been asked to sell.

MAN climbed 3.12 EUR, or 3.7%, to 88.11 EUR. Daimler gained 1.44 EUR, or 2.7%, to 55.45 EUR. Goldman, Sachs & Co. raised its price estimate for shares of the world's biggest truck maker 4.8% to 65 EUR.

IKB Deutsche Industriebank AG lost 1.10 EUR, or 16%, to 5.65 EUR. The German bank reeling from U.S. subprime investments will ask shareholders to approve its 1.5 billion-euro share sale ($2.2 billion) that's part of a government-led bailout.

UniCredit SpA cut its share-price estimate 70% to 1.80 EUR today.

The following stocks also rose or fell in German markets. Symbols are in parentheses.

Aareal Bank AG (ARL GY) increased 74 cents, or 3.3%, to 23.09 EUR. The commercial-property lender said fourth- quarter profit dropped 47 %to 18 million EUR on a trading loss due to write downs on mortgage-backed securities.

Adidas AG (ADS GY) added 86 cents, or 2%, to 43.98 EUR. The sporting-goods maker's TaylorMade golf unit sold its trademark for Maxfli balls to Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. for an undisclosed amount.

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW GY) advanced 73 cents, or 2.1%, to 35.95 EUR. The world's largest maker of luxury cars and Robert Bosch GmbH are interested in taking over Nokia Oyj's automotive electronics division in Bochum , Germany .

Merck KgaA (MRK GY) fell 2 EUR, or 2.4%, to 82.54 EUR. The world's biggest maker of liquid crystals reported profit that missed analyst estimates as sales of the chemicals for flat-panel screens declined and the company had unexpected charges at its drugs unit.

Norddeutsche Affinerie AG (NDA GY) retreated 85 cents, or 2.9 %, to 28.75 EUR after M.M. Warburg & Co.’s decision to sell Europe 's largest copper refiner.

Premiere AG (PRE GY), the country's biggest pay-television company, gained 35 cents, or 2.5%, to 14.62 EUR after Morgan Stanley called the stock's ``risk-reward favorable.''

The brokerage cut its share-price estimate to 16.2 EUR from 16.6 EUR.

SAP AG (SAP GY) added 39 cents, or 1.2 %, to 32.86 EUR. The world's largest business-management software maker plans to maintain sales growth in Saudi Arabia at similar pace as in countries such as China and India .

Singulus Technologies AG (SNG GY), the maker of machines that replicate compact discs and DVDs, gained 60 cents, or 6.1%, to 10.45 EUR after a report said Toshiba Corp. may abandon its HD DVD business after losing customers to Sony Corp.'s Blu-ray technology, a move that would end the media industry's biggest format war since the 1980s.