Frankfurt, March 01 (Reuters) - According to calculations by banks and brokerage houses, the Dax will start the month higher on Friday.

On Thursday it rose to 17,742.48 points, marking an all-time high for the sixth day in a row. The Dax ended trading 0.4 percent higher at 17,678.19 points.

Data on inflation in the eurozone is due at the end of the week. Experts surveyed by Reuters expect consumer prices to have risen less sharply in February than at the beginning of the year: the inflation rate is likely to have fallen to 2.5 percent from 2.8 percent in January. A more significant fall could fuel speculation that the European Central Bank (ECB) will soon cut interest rates. The central bankers will discuss their monetary policy next week.

In addition, numerous company balance sheets are keeping stock market players on their toes: Volkswagen, Daimler Truck and DHL, among others, are presenting figures. 

               Closing prices of European indices Dax 17,678.19 Dax future 17,815.00 EuroStoxx50 4,877.77 EuroStoxx50 future 4,917.00 Closing prices of US indices on Friday Change previous trading day Dow Jones 38,996.39 +0.1 percent Nasdaq 16,091.92 +0.9 percent S&P 500 5,096.27 +0.5 percent Asian indices on Friday Change Nikkei 39,910.82 +1.9 percent Shang     
 (Report by Anika Ross and Hakan Ersen .  If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)