German Stocks Fluctuate as Carmakers Decline, Banks Advance

By Julie Cruz

April 16 (Bloomberg) -- German stocks swung between gains and losses as a decline in carmakers offset speculation the worst of the credit crisis is over after American Express Co. said growth in bad loans slowed.

Daimler AG and Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, the world’s largest makers of luxury cars, dropped at least 1.2 percent on lower European car sales. Commerzbank AG and Deutsche Bank AG, Germany’s biggest banks, climbed more than 1 percent each.

The benchmark DAX Index slipped 0.2 percent to 4,538.83 as of 10:10 a.m. in Frankfurt after gaining as much as 0.7 percent earlier. The HDAX Index of the country’s 110 largest companies decreased 0.2 percent to 2,257.97.

Daimler declined 1.2 percent to 25.40 euros, while BMW retreated 1.6 percent to 24.53 euros. New car registrations in March fell to 1.51 million vehicles from 1.66 million a year earlier, an 11th consecutive monthly drop, the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association said today. First-quarter sales tumbled 17 percent to 3.44 million vehicles.

Commerzbank, Germany’s second-biggest bank, added 1 percent to 4.90 euros. Deutsche Bank, the largest, climbed 2.6 percent to 37.99 euros. Deutsche Postbank AG advanced 1.6 percent to 14.31 euros.

U.S. shares rallied yesterday after the Federal Reserve said in its regional business survey that the U.S. contraction slowed across several of the biggest regional economies last month. American Express said charge-offs for managed consumer accounts rose at a slower pace in March.

Gagfah SA jumped 4.6 percent to 5.02 euros after Morgan Stanley upgraded the owner of German apartments to “equal weight” from “underweight.” Gerresheimer AG added 3.1 percent to 16.40 euros as the stock was rated “overweight” in new coverage at HSBC Holdings Plc.

To contact the reporter on this story: Julie Cruz in London at Jcruz6@bloomberg.net.