DAX Retreats After Positive Start

(RTTNews) - German stocks are mostly subdued in lackluster trade Thursday morning with investors digesting a report showing a contraction in the nation's manufacturing activity in the month of December.

The benchmark DAX, which climbed to 20,024.79 in early trades, was down 20.98 points or about 0.11% at 19,888.16 a little while ago.

Data from S&P Global said the HCOB Germany Manufacturing PMI came in with a reading of 42.5 in December, down from reading of 43 in both October and November. Sharp declines in output and new orders amid weak demand contributed to the contraction.

Shares from the automobile sector are exhibiting weakness. BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen are down 2.7%, 2.3% and 1.9%, respectively. Porsche is down by about 1.2%, Continental is lower by 1.1% and Daimler Truck Holding is down nearly 1%.

Commerzbank is declining by about 2.3%, while Deutsche Bank is down 1.4%. Continental, Bayer, Adidas, Beiersdorf, Fresenius, Deutsche Post and Sartorius are also notably lower.

Among the gainers, RWE is up nearly 2%, E.ON is gaining about 1.75% and Hannover Rueck is rising 1.6%. Muench. Rueckvers is advancing nearly 1%, while Vonovia, Infineon, BASF and SAP are modestly higher.