Around the World's Markets: Frankfurt

STOCKS reversed earlier losses following a strong opening on Wall Street. The electronically-traded Xetra DAX closed up 54.17 at 4,722.69. The floor DAX closed down 18.95 at 4,678.72. One dealer said: "The market is still under pressure, but this news from the US caught a lot of people out and that's why you saw the rally."

Confirmation that German economic growth turned negative in the fourth quarter of 1998 did little to lift market sentiment. The economy contracted by 0.4 per cent in the three months.