FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The slight recovery on the German stock market that started the day before continued with more momentum on Tuesday. Support came once again from the USA, where the record mood for technology stocks continues. On the economic side, the focus in Germany is on the ZEW data. According to the experts at Landesbank Helaba, a further slight improvement in sentiment is to be expected. It would be the eleventh in a row and, according to portfolio manager Thomas Altmann from QC Partners, would "once again confirm the more positive outlook for the future".

In the afternoon, attention is likely to focus on retail sales and industrial production in the USA in May, with slight increases expected for both.

The Dax rose by 0.51 percent to 18,158.36 points in early trading. The MDax, the mid-cap index, gained 0.61 percent to 25,637.93 points. The EuroStoxx 50, the leading index for the eurozone, advanced by 0.42 percent to 4901.02 points.

At the start of the week, the Dax had almost reached Friday's low of 17,951 points, but then managed to break through the 18,000-point mark again. Together with the 100-day moving average, which is not far away, it currently represents a fairly stable support level and thus put a stop to the recent correction for the time being.

This was helped by the fact that not only the technology-heavy Nasdaq stock market climbed to new record highs again the previous day, but also the broad market S&P 500. The Nasdaq 100 selection index is now up a good 18% in 2024 and is heading towards the 20,000-point mark. In addition to the booming topic of artificial intelligence (AI), investors are also continuing to focus on the interest rate turnaround in the US, even though the Fed initially maintained its high interest rate policy last week.

Meanwhile, in Europe, market strategists at UBS see an overreaction to the political risk posed by the new elections in France. This offers opportunities, as the most likely outcome is a stalemate with subsequent compromises.

Among the individual stocks, defense stocks in particular rose. Rheinmetall gained 2.0 percent at the top of the Dax and Hensoldt was one of the top stocks in the MDax with a plus of 2.2 percent. Renk in the SDax rose by 2.3 percent.

Hugo Boss only benefited to a below-average extent from the fact that Michael Ashley, the founder and main shareholder of the British retail group Frasers Group, increased his share of voting rights.

Otherwise, reclassifications were moving. Oddo BHF started its assessment of the shares of IT service provider Adesso with an "outperform" rating, which helped the shares to gain 1.2 percent. Citigroup gave the shares of specialty chemicals group Evonik "positive catalyst watch" status, raised its target price by one euro to 25 euros and reiterated its "buy" recommendation.

JPMorgan did the same for the flavor and fragrance manufacturer Symrise. This US bank awarded Symrise "positive catalyst watch" status and expects good figures for the second quarter. Evonik's shares rose by 1.7 percent and Symrise's by 0.9 percent./ck/mis