FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The significant recovery of the DAX the day before is likely to come to an end again on Thursday. Two hours before the Xetra start, the broker IG assessed the leading German index one percent lower at 17,433 points.

By the middle of the week, the Dax had made up for its heavy losses at the beginning of the week. However, the New York stock market had already fallen again in the course of the week. Stock markets have been in choppy waters since the plunge triggered by recession worries in the USA.

For the Dax, it is now a question of maintaining the 200-day line for the longer-term trend at 17,438 points. The reporting season, which is in full swing with quarterly figures from five Dax companies such as Munich Re, Allianz, Deutsche Telekom, Siemens and Rheinmetall, is likely to set the tone on the penultimate trading day of the week./ajx/jha/