FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Investors were relieved after Continental lowered its forecast on Wednesday. This is because the annual targets have not been lowered any further, as analyst Michael Aspinall from investment house Jefferies wrote. In addition, the automotive supplier and tire manufacturer's key figures for the second quarter were better than expected.

At the top of the Dax, Conti shares recently rose by 4.9 percent to 57 euros. Since the beginning of the year, however, they are still among the weakest stocks in the leading German index with a drop of around 26 percent.

Conti is currently in the spotlight with plans to spin off its automotive supplier business with the aim of exploiting the value and growth potential of the two separate groups. The shares reacted positively to the plans announced on Monday, although there were no significant price gains in view of the turbulence in the stock market./ajx/mis