BLBG:German Stocks Advance Before Euro-Area Ministers’ Meeting
German stocks advanced for a third day before euro-area finance chiefs meet to discuss aid for Cyprus and Greece.
Bilfinger SE climbed 2.7 percent after the construction company reported earnings that topped analyst estimates. Daimler AG retreated 1 percent as a gauge of carmakers fell the second- most among the 19 industry groups in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index. Kontron AG slipped 5.2 percent after posting an unexpected full- year loss.
The DAX added 0.3 percent to 7,673.21 at 10:56 a.m. in Frankfurt. The gauge has increased 0.8 percent so far this year as U.S. lawmakers agreed on a compromise budget to prevent most scheduled tax increases and delay spending cuts that had threatened to push the world’s largest economy into a recession. The broader HDAX Index gained 0.2 percent today.
“Today is carnival Monday and the German market historically trades with low volume on this day,” Marcus Silbe, an analyst at Close Brothers Seydler Research AG in Frankfurt, wrote in a note. “Cyprus could be a topic today. While the signs of a possible correction are getting stronger, we envisage a scenario more supportive for a positive trading session.”
The number of shares changing hands in companies on the DAX was 23 percent less than the average over the past 30 days, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Ministers Meet
Ministers from the 17-member euro area meet in Brussels today to discuss aid to Cyprus and Greece as a tightening election contest in Italy and a political scandal in Spain disrupt market calm. Group of 20 finance chiefs and central bankers will gather in Moscow Feb. 15-16.
Bilfinger climbed 2.01 euros to 75.99 euros after Germany’s second-largest construction company reported full-year adjusted net income of 275 million euros. That beat the average analyst estimate of 273 million euros, according to Bloomberg data.
Daimler, the third-biggest luxury-vehicle maker, lost 45 cents to 45.11 euros.
Kontron slipped 23 cents to 4.08 euros. The German maker of embedded computer boards posted a full-year loss of 32 million euros ($42.8 million) for 2012. Analysts had forecast earnings before interest and taxes of 980,000 euros.
To contact the reporter on this story: Jonathan Morgan in Frankfurt at jmorgan157@bloomberg.net
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