German Stocks Rise for Fifth Day as Banks, Carmakers Advance

By Cornelius Rahn

Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) -- German stocks rose for a fifth day, led by banks and automakers, as a report showed Europe’s service and manufacturing industries expanded at the fastest pace in more than two years.

The benchmark DAX Index added 0.9 percent to 5,861.98 as of 10:24 a.m. in Frankfurt, poised for the longest stretch of daily gains since September. The measure has rallied almost 60 percent since March 6 as Europe’s largest economy emerged from recession and the world economy showed signs of recovery. The broader HDAX Index increased 0.9 percent today.

A composite index based on a survey of purchasing managers in both industries in the 16-nation euro region increased to 54.2 in December from 53.7 in the previous month, London-based Markit Economics said today in an initial estimate. That was the highest since October 2007. Economists expected a gain to 54, according to the median of 10 forecasts in a Bloomberg survey. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke and his colleagues may indicate the U.S. recovery is gaining strength while repeating a pledge to keep the benchmark interest rate almost at zero for an “extended period.”

The Federal Open Market Committee gathers as growth in the final quarter of 2009 accelerates to more than 4 percent, the fastest pace in almost four years, according to analysts’ forecasts. The FOMC will probably discuss how to eventually withdraw unprecedented programs to revive credit, including purchases of $1.43 trillion in housing debt, economists said.

Banks, Carmakers

Deutsche Bank AG climbed for a third day, adding 4 percent to 51.48 euros. Germany’s biggest lender was raised to “selected list” from “outperform” at CA Cheuvreux, which said “we are very pleased that management is going out on a limb on profitability by giving hard figures” and named the stock as one of its top picks in Germany.

Commerzbank AG, the country’s second-largest bank, jumped 5.2 percent to 6.26 euros, poised for the steepest gain in more than a month.

Bayerische Motorenwerke AG, the world’s largest maker of luxury cars, gained 1.2 percent to 31.96 euros snapping a two- day decline. Daimler AG, the second-biggest, gained 1.1 percent to 36.77 euros. Automobile and parts shares were among the best performers among 19 industry groups in the pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 index today.

Aurubis, TUI

Aurubis AG, Europe’s biggest copper refiner, increased 1.1 percent to 30.34 euros, the first gain in three days. The company expects demand for copper to recover next year and forecast a limited surplus in 2010 and 2011.

Separately, Aurubis said the voting rights stake of Salzgitter AG’s Salzgitter Mannesmann GmbH unit had exceeded the 25 percent threshold on Dec. 15, and now amounts to 25.26 percent. Salzgitter added 0.5 percent to 66.85 euros.

TUI AG jumped 7 percent to 5.80 euros, headed for its biggest gain since August. The travel company that’s helping bail out the Hapag-Lloyd shipping line was raised to “outperform” from “underperform” at Cheuvreux, which said “the operating risks at Hapag Lloyd appear to have decreased.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Cornelius Rahn in Frankfurt at crahn2@bloomberg.net