FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX)

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SHARES

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GERMANY: - SMALL LOSSES - After the strong recovery of the previous day, small losses are expected in the DAX on Friday. Broker IG valued the leading German index 0.1 percent lower at 18,234 points just two and a half hours before the start of Xetra trading. Nevertheless, investors can be quite satisfied with the past few days after the previous week's slump. Over the week to date, the Dax has recovered by 1.4 percent. Before the weekend, however, the Dax appears to be following the weaker US trend. US technology stocks had crowned their record run in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 with further highs. However, they were unable to maintain their gains.

USA: - GAINS IN TECH STOCKS - Losses on the booming Nasdaq and gains on the Dow Jones Industrial benchmark index dominated the picture on the US stock markets on Thursday. After the holiday-free Wednesday, investors took "money off the table", as it is called in Borsen jargon, especially in chip stocks, which have recently rushed from one record high to the next, and made gains. The Nasdaq 100 index fell by 0.79 percent to 19,752.30 points. By contrast, the Dow Jones Industrial rose by 0.77 percent to 39,134.76 points.

ASIA: - MOSTLY WEAKER - The major stock markets in Asia were mostly weaker on Friday. Profit-taking in US technology stocks also dampened sentiment in Asia. In the Chinese special administrative region of Hong Kong, the technology-heavy Hang Seng Index fell by around 1.7 percent. The CSI 300, which tracks the most important stocks on the Chinese mainland stock exchanges, fell by around 0.6 percent in late trading. Meanwhile in Tokyo, Japan's leading index, the Nikkei 225, practically stood still shortly before the end of trading.

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DAX 18254.18 1.03

XDAX 18248.84 0.91

EuroSTOXX 50 4947.73 1.27

Stoxx50 4544.67 0.88

DJIA 39134.76 0.77

S&P 500 5473.17 -0.25

NASDAQ 100 19752.30 -0.79

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BONDS / FOREIGN EXCHANGE / CRUDE OIL

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YIELDS:

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Bund future 132.39 -0.01%°

DEVISES:

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Euro/USD 1.0719 0.16

USD/Yen 158.84 -0.06

Euro/Yen 170.26 0.09

CRUDE OIL:

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Brent 85.63 -0.08 USD

WTI 81.23 -0.06 USD°

/jha/