FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - After moderate gains the day before, the Dax weakened again on Friday. In the first few minutes of trading, the leading German index lost 0.12 percent to 19,419.09 points. It has thus fallen by around 1.2 percent since the start of the week. According to market observer Thomas Altmann from QC Partners, the "great momentum on the European stock market is gone for the time being". However, the basic optimism of investors remains intact. In addition to the reporting season, the Ifo business climate provided impetus in the morning.

Following the encouraging purchasing managers' indices from the previous day, the experts at Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen expect a small increase in the Ifo index. However, it is questionable whether this will be enough to significantly lift market sentiment. "Nevertheless, it seems premature to call a turnaround for the German economy," wrote the Helaba experts. This would require a recovery lasting several months.

The MDax of mid-cap blue chips climbed 0.17 percent to 27,187.86 points in early trading. The EuroStoxx 50, the eurozone's leading barometer, lost just under 0.1 percent. The previous evening, trading on the US stock exchange had ended with mixed results. Asia also gave a mixed picture recently./niw/jha/