FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Shares in German technology companies rose sharply on Monday afternoon, benefiting not least from significant gains on the US technology stock exchange Nasdaq.

Infineon recovered almost completely from its losses on Friday. The shares of the Munich-based semiconductor manufacturer recently rose by 4.0 percent to 34.43 euros at the top of the Dax. In the previous week, the shares - like the leading German index - had recorded losses on every trading day. In total, they fell by just over 8 percent. Over the course of the year, today's price recovery has now resulted in a loss of around 9 percent.

At the top of the MDax index, shares in chip industry equipment supplier Aixtron rose by 4.3% to EUR 21.09.

In the SDax, the shares of semiconductor industry supplier Süss Microtec benefited from the brighter sentiment, rising by just over 10 percent to 67.10 euros. They were also supported by an upgrade from the bank Oddo BHF towards their record high of 70.70 euros.

Both Aixtron and Suess also lost considerable ground last week. However, while Aixtron's loss for the year now totals around 45 percent, the Suess share is up 142 percent. Following the quarterly figures presented on Friday and the raised annual targets, enthusiasm broke out among investors and analysts. MWB Research recommended the share as a buy on the same day. The experts praised the strong sales growth and the forecast increase and see only a limited risk in the geopolitical tensions that had recently weighed on the share.

Oddo BHF followed suit on Monday. The analysts also praised the very solid key data and see the higher targets for the year as a whole as proof of a sustainable change in the growth and profitability profile. They upgraded the share from "Neutral" to "Outperform". Their price target, which has been raised by 15 euros, now signals significant potential again at 80 euros./ck/jsl/he