Around the World's Markets: Frankfurt

THE XETRA DAX shrugged off early losses to rise 1.01 per cent as Volkswagen and HypoVereinsbank surged, closing at 5,344.92.

Volkswagen rose 4.67 per cent on news it will be considered for inclusion in the Dow Jones Stoxx indices, while HypoVereinsbank jumped 7.14 per cent after reports that it was considering floating its Direktbank unit.

One trader said: "Without the gains in these two stocks the bourse would not be so high."