FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - The German stock market appeared relatively lethargic and ultimately directionless on Rose Monday. With little impetus from overseas markets due to a holiday in the United States and several closed exchanges in Asia – such as China for the Lunar New Year – trading was rather thin. More significant economic signals from the US and Europe are not expected until later in the week.

Once again, the DAX struggled with the 25,000-point mark, oscillating around its Friday closing level and ultimately losing 0.46 percent to finish at 24,800.91 points. The main reason for this was a massive loss by index heavyweight Siemens, driven by concerns related to artificial intelligence (AI). In contrast, the MDAX, which tracks mid-cap German stocks, closed Monday up 0.21 percent at 31,364.56 points.

Following its recent record high, Siemens shares slumped to their lowest level since mid-December, ultimately falling by 6.4 percent. According to market observers, investors fear that industrial software could be threatened by advanced AI tools. Analysts note that the practice of purchasing all solutions from a single provider like Siemens is becoming increasingly untenable, as AI now enables companies to combine their software with "open" systems.

Construction stocks were particularly in demand at the start of the week. At Heidelberg Materials, JPMorgan eased recent concerns regarding emissions trading. The shares rose by 2.0 percent. Hochtief reached a record high and ended the day up 5.6 percent. According to Jefferies, Hochtief and its parent company ACS are well positioned as leading contractors in the data center construction sector.

Shares of Hapag-Lloyd dropped 8.3 percent in the wake of an acquisition. The container shipping company announced that it has signed a purchase agreement with Israeli competitor Zim Integrated Shipping Services (ZIM). Hapag-Lloyd will acquire 100 percent of ZIM shares for 35 US dollars per share in cash. The total volume of the transaction amounts to more than 4 billion dollars.

Flatexdegiro shares extended their recent slide, dropping 6.9 percent to become the weakest performer in the MDAX. This brings the loss since the early February record high to around 24 percent. The online broker's shares have recently come under pressure due to concerns over AI competition, which is affecting many sectors. Additional pressure came from Exane BNP Paribas analyst Christoph Blieffert, who withdrew his buy recommendation./edh/he

--- By Eduard Holetic, dpa-AFX ---