FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX)

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SHARES

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GERMANY: - SMALL GAINS - After three days of correction, the Dax is likely to start Thursday with slight gains. Broker IG estimated the leading German index to be 0.2 percent higher at 18,472 points around two and a half hours before the Xetra start in the morning. It had defended its 21-day average line at 18,347 points on Wednesday afternoon, after a weekly drop of more than two percent. Meanwhile, Wall Street continued to present a mixed picture. While the Dow Jones Industrial continued its record chase, the indices of the technology stock market Nasdaq tore open a price gap on the chart.

USA: - DOW CONTINUES RECORD CHASE - Investor shifts within the US stock market continue. The Dow Jones Industrial benchmark index continued its record chase on Wednesday and climbed well above the 41,000 point mark. It closed 0.59 percent firmer at 41,198.08 points. As a result, it further reduced the significant gap it has had to the other indices since the beginning of the year. The previous day, the Dow had recorded its biggest daily gain since the beginning of June, rising 1.85%.

ASIA: - UNIFORM - The most important stock markets in Asia did not follow a uniform direction on Thursday. In Tokyo, Japan's leading index, the Nikkei 225, fell by 2.2 percent. The weakness on the US technology stock markets continued there. In contrast, the CSI 300, which includes the most important stocks on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, gained 0.1% in China. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index also rose slightly by 0.2 percent.

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DAX 18437.30 -0.44%

XDAX 18434.07 -0.79%

EuroSTOXX 50 4891.46 -1.14%

Stoxx50 4472.69 -0.74%

DJIA 41198.08 0.59%

S&P 500 5588.27 -1.39%

NASDAQ 100 19799.14 -2.94%°

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BONDS / FOREIGN EXCHANGE / CRUDE OIL

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YIELDS:

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Bund future 132.45 -0.08%°

DEVISES:

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Euro/USD 1.0933 -0.06%

USD/Yen 156.43 0.13%

Euro/Yen 171.03 0.09%°

CRUDE OIL:

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Brent 85.45 0.37 USD

WTI 83.41 0.56 USD°

/jha/