(RTTNews) - German stocks rose on Friday as strong U.S. economic data released overnight boosted hopes for a quicker economic recovery.
Investors shrugged off domestic data showing that Germany's economy contracted in the first quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic after recovering slightly in the second half of 2020.
Gross domestic product fell 1.7 percent sequentially, in contrast to the 0.5 percent growth seen in the fourth quarter of 2020, Destatis said. This was bigger than the economists' forecast of -1.5 percent.
GDP, on an unadjusted basis, declined at a faster pace of 3.3 percent annually in the first quarter after easing 2.3 percent in the previous quarter. Economists had forecast an annual fall of 3.6 percent.
The benchmark DAX climbed 80 points, or half a percent, to 15,235 after losing 0.9 percent in the previous session.
Wacker Chemie shares fell over 1 percent. The chemicals company revised upward its full-year 2021 forecast after reporting first quarter net income of 106.6 million euros compared to 68.9 million euros, prior year.
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