BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - German stocks advanced on Thursday after a survey showed German consumer morale improved more than expected heading into August.
Market research group GfK said its forward-looking consumer sentiment index rose to -0.3 points from revised -9.4 in July. The expected reading was -5.0.
Gfk said German consumers are gradually putting the coronavirus shock of earlier this year behind them. A V-shaped trend is currently emerging for the consumer climate.
The benchmark DAX climbed 106 points, or 0.81 percent, to 13,209 after declining half a percent in the previous session.
Shares of Daimler AG soared 6 percent. After reporting wider loss and weak sales volume in its second quarter hurt by the virus-related lockdowns, the auto giant said that it started seeing first signs of sales recovery amid Covid-19 pandemic, and expects to record an operating profit in fiscal 2020.
Rival BMW rallied 3.7 percent and Volkswagen added 2.3 percent.
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG surged nearly 5 percent. The precision mechanical engineering company has agreed to sell the German-Swiss Gallus Group to the Swiss packaging group benpac holding.
Aixtron fell 2.7 percent. The provider of deposition equipment to the semiconductor industry, reported that its second-quarter net result declined 55 percent to 3.3 million euros from last year's 7.3 million euros.
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