FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - After Thursday's recovery, the DAX initially held steady on Friday. Just minutes after opening on Xetra, it was virtually unchanged, standing at 24,196 points. This puts the DAX's weekly performance slightly in positive territory. Since the beginning of the year, Germany's leading index has gained more than one fifth.
Trading could be somewhat more volatile on Friday, as it is a major expiry day on the exchanges; contracts on stocks and indices on the derivatives markets are expiring. According to market observer Thomas Altmann of QC Partners, particular attention in the DAX is focused on the 24,000-point mark.
The MDAX of mid-cap stocks fell by 0.24 percent to 30,207 points. The EuroStoxx 50, the leading index of the eurozone, hovered around its previous day's close./ajx/stw
