Dax aktuell: Dax notiert vor EZB-Zinsentscheid im Plus – Vonovia-Aktie verliert deutlich

On Thursday, DAX remained directionless in early trading, closing 0.7 percent above 25,896 points. The quarterly results of major companies painted an inconsistent picture of Germany's economic situation. On the previous day, even strong quarterly figures from key DAX companies failed to give the DAX a boost. The index closed slightly in the plus at 25,704 points after a weak trading start.

Alongside Volkswagen, a series of mid-sized companies released their numbers on Thursday, including many abroad. Volkswagen announced a billion-euro loss for the third quarter, with the stock slightly in the minus, citing non-recurring items, particularly an impairment on the goodwill of the Porsche subsidiary. Adidas aimed to turn around its growth in the holiday season in Europe, and the stock rose by 2.3 percent.

Henkel, buoyed by an unexpectedly strong third quarter, looked optimistically ahead to the full year, with the stock rising by 2.6 percent. MTU, the engine manufacturer, corrected its forecast upwards after a surprisingly good quarter, but the stock fell by 3.1 percent. ING missed analysts' expectations and cut 400 jobs as part of a corporate restructuring, losing four percent.

Thomas Altmann of QC Partners noted that the stock markets were processing Friday night's post-market results from Alphabet and Microsoft, which had been released on Wednesday evening. Alphabet missed both revenue and profit expectations for the third quarter, raising doubts among investors about the eventual payoff of record expenditures on artificial intelligence (AI). The stock tumbled after-hours by nearly eleven percent.