FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX)

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SHARES

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GERMANY: - RECOVERY EXPECTED - Stock investors in Germany are likely to regain some courage on Wednesday. Two hours before the Xetra start, the broker IG valued the Dax 1.1 percent higher at 17,546 points. The day before, the initial panic from the beginning of the week following the severe turbulence triggered by recession worries in the USA had already receded from the market and tempers had calmed down. However, it was still not enough for a real recovery. Reassuring signals came from Japan's central bank. The central bank would not raise interest rates if the market proved unstable, it said.

USA: - SHARE PRICE GAINS AFTER DROP - Buyers are increasingly taking to the New York stock markets, which have been battered recently. The Dow Jones Industrial benchmark index extended its gains on Tuesday after a friendly start. At the end of trading, it was up 0.76 percent at 38,97.66 points, but remained below its high for the day. The situation was similar for the other indices. The broad market S&P 500 ultimately rose by 1.04% to 5,240.03 points - it had suffered its biggest daily loss in almost two years at the start of the week. The technology-heavy Nasdaq 100 index closed 1.02 percent firmer at 18,077.92 points on Tuesday.

ASIA: - JAPAN RECOVERED - The stock market in Japan continued its recovery on Wednesday after the recent price slump. In Tokyo, the Nikkei index for 225 leading stocks, which had already recovered strongly the previous day, rose by 3.2 percent. Reassuring signals came from the central bank. The country's central bank will not raise interest rates if the market proves unstable, it said. This was enough to give share prices in Tokyo a further significant boost. In China, movements were again more moderate. The tech-heavy Hang Seng Index of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region rose by 1.3 percent, while the CSI 300, which includes the 300 most important shares on the Chinese mainland stock exchanges, gained 0.2 percent.

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DAX 17354.32 0.09%

XDAX 17366.19 0.02%

EuroSTOXX 50 4575.22 0.08%

Stoxx50 4256.15 0.50%

DJIA 38997.66 0.76%

S&P 500 5240.03 1.04%

NASDAQ 100 18077.92 1.02%°

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BONDS / FOREIGN EXCHANGE / CRUDE OIL

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YIELDS:

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Bund future 134.56 -0.11%°

DEVISES:

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Euro/USD 1.0911 -0.19%

USD/Yen 147.53 2.20%

Euro/Yen 160.96 2.02%°

COMMODITY OIL:

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Brent 76.76 0.28 USD

WTI 73.50 0.30 USD°

/jha/