After the price rally of the past few days, the DAX started trading on Thursday with little change.

At 21,279 points, the leading German index was marginally firmer. The Dax broke through the psychologically important 21,000-point mark for the first time on Monday and has gained a good two percent since the start of the week. "Due to the record chase, the Dax is now massively overbought," said Thomas Altmann from asset manager QC Partners. Investors should ask themselves whether a dangerous euphoria is developing here. The prospect of lower interest rates in the US and the eurozone for the time being, as well as the lack of any concrete tariff announcements from the new US President Donald Trump, have recently driven the DAX significantly higher.

Volkswagen was one of the biggest winners on the DAX with a gain of 1.5 percent - although the car manufacturer has slightly lowered its profit forecast for the core brand according to analysts. In the MDax, Puma plummeted by 18.7 percent at its peak. Despite sales growth, the sporting goods manufacturer's profits are treading water.

(Report by: Daniela Pegna, edited by Kerstin Dörr. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).