A jump in DaimlerChrysler and stronger technology stocks lifted Germany's blue-chip index, but it underperformed European peers as the previous session's Cisco-inspired rally lost steam.
By 10.45 GMT the benchmark DAX was up 0.67 per cent at 4,466.67 points, having slipped in and out of the red throughout the session. DaimlerChrysler's 3.7 per cent rise and Siemens's 4.2 per cent gain added the most weight.
But the index undperformed the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 and the pan-European FTSE Eurotop 300, which both rose roughly 2 per cent as tech stocks across the continent climbed after a positive outlook from US bellwether Cisco.
The Neuer Markt Nemax 50 rose 3 per cent to 847.13 points.
Market players said the DAX had already ridden the Cisco wave in late trading on Wednesday and was now consolidating.
The DAX has gained 18 per cent since the sell-off on September 21st; the Nemax 50 has risen 25 per cent. The DAX is trading about 5 per cent down on the level it was at before the attacks in the United States on September 11th.
Shares in passive electronics components maker Epcos rose 7 per cent to 38.60 euros on hopes of an upswing in the handset market and as investors viewed the stock as cheap, market players said.