Bourse breakthrough

The index opened at 5,977.99 points, a gain of 0.34 percent from Wednesday's pre-Christmas close, and hit the 6,000-point mark in early trade.

After hovering both above and below that level throughout the day, it closed at 6,003 points.

"This is a psychological victory," Baader Bank market analyst Robert Halver told dpa news agency. "The breach of the 6,000 barrier is certainly a positive signal."

The DAX index stood at 6234 points in mid-September 2008, before the collapse of the US-based Lehman Brothers investment bank triggered chaos on world financial markets..

By March 2009 the DAX had dropped to around 3,600 points, its lowest level since 2003. But some traders warned that low trading volumes meant recent gains should not be overvalued.

Dow Jones Newswires quoted a Deutsche Bank trader as saying that trading volumes were expected to remain thin until the end of the year, and cited positive sentiment on Asian markets and US movements on Friday as reasons for the breakthrough.

In New York, traders were reportedly set to close 2009 on a high note, with markets expected to hold on to solid gains after staging a remarkable turnaround from a chaotic start to the year.

sje/afp/dpa

Editor: Susan Houlton