FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Stock investors in Germany are likely to regain some courage on Wednesday. Two hours before the Xetra start, the broker IG estimated the Dax 1.1 percent higher at 17,546 points. The day before, the initial panic from the beginning of the week following the severe turbulence triggered by recession worries in the USA had already receded from the market and tempers had calmed down. However, it was still not enough for a real recovery.

From Japan, where the leading index Nikkei-225 had plummeted by more than twelve percent on Monday in the wake of the rising yen and fears of interest rate hikes, the central bank has now sent out reassuring signals. The central bank would not raise interest rates if the market proved unstable, it said. This was enough to give share prices in Tokyo a further significant boost.

The Dax, which recently lost 1,500 points in just three trading days, is expected to rise to over 17,500 points on Wednesday, further away from the 17,000 mark, which it had approached on Monday. It would then also be back above the 200-day line, which indicates the longer-term trend and currently stands at 17,483 points./ajx/jha/