German Stocks Fluctuate; Merck KGaA, Daimler, Hochtief Rise as K+S Falls

German stocks fluctuated, after the benchmark DAX Index posted its biggest weekly decline in more than a month last week and the Japanese economy grew more slowly than expected increasing concern of a global slowdown.

Merck KGaA rose as JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stance on the shares. Hochtief jumped the most since May as Germany’s largest construction company predicted its order book will grow this year, buoyed by expansion overseas and gains in the Australian and U.S. dollars. Deutsche Bank AG, Germany’s largest bank, and K+S AG led declines.

The benchmark DAX was little changed, down less than 0.1 percent at 6,108.43 at 12:53 p.m. in Frankfurt, having swung between gains and losses at least five times today. The gauge has gained 66 percent since March 2009 as governments and central banks worldwide maintained record low interest rates and committed more than $12 trillion to support the economy. The broader HDAX Index was little changed, slipping less than 0.1 percent to 3,081.97 today.

Gross domestic product in Japan rose an annualized 0.4 percent in the second quarter, the Cabinet Office said, pushing the economy into third place behind the U.S. and China. The median estimate of 19 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News was for growth of 2.3 percent.

Merck, Carmakers Climb

Merck climbed 1.6 percent to 68.89 euros as JPMorgan upgraded the drugmaker to “neutral” from “underweight.”

Daimler AG, the world’s second-biggest maker of luxury cars, rose 0.9 percent to 39.50 euros, while Porsche SE increased 1.2 percent to 36.95 euros. European automaker shares advanced as much as 1.2 percent today, among the best performers in the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 Index.

Hochtief soared 5.7 percent to 52.43 euros. The company’s inflow of new work will exceed 2009 levels, the Essen-based company said in a statement on its website today. Exchange rate moves inflated first-half orders by 6 billion euros ($7.7 billion). Hochtief forecast similar sales to last year, with pretax profit increasing “slightly.”

“We have kept the flow of work coming,” Chief Executive Officer Herbert Luetkestratkoetter said in the statement.

GfK SE increased 2.5 percent to 28.69 euros after the market research group said second-quarter net income rose to 22 million euros from 14.4 million euros, as sales increased.

Deutsche Bank, Germany’s biggest bank, dropped 1.3 percent to 52.24 euros. European banking shares lost as much as 1.3 percent today, the worst performing of 19 industry groups in Europe’s Stoxx 600.

K+S AG, Europe’s largest potash producer, lost 1.7 percent to 41.62 euros, while ThyssenKrupp AG, Germany’s biggest steelmaker, retreated 0.9 percent to 22.95 euros.

Deutsche Euroshop AG dropped 1 percent to 23.19 euros as Equinet AG downgraded the stock to “accumulate” from “buy.”