The Dax started trading higher on Monday.

The leading German index advanced by 0.2 percent to 18,204 points in the first few minutes. "Optimism seems to be back for the moment," says Thomas Altmann from QC Partners. "The positive course of the reporting season so far is prompting investors to pick up shares again." This gives the DAX the opportunity to now bite back above the 18,000 points mark.

Daimler Truck was one of the biggest winners in the leading index with a gain of 1.9 percent. The truck manufacturer reached an agreement with the UAW auto union in the USA at the weekend, averting a strike at the last minute. On the losing side were Deutsche Bank shares, which fell by more than four percent. The bank is now facing a billion-euro back payment to the former shareholders of Postbank.

In the SDax, Heidelberger Druck advanced by just under five percent. The mechanical engineering company is seeing the first signs of an upturn in the order situation. "The order intake in the fourth quarter in particular shows a positive market trend," a company spokesperson told Wirtschaftswoche.

(Report by: Daniela Pegna, edited by Ralf Banser. If you have any queries, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)