BERLIN, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- German stocks were almost unchanged at the start of trading on Monday, with the benchmark DAX index increasing by 14.03 points, or 0.11 percent, opening at 13,255.78 points.
The biggest winner among Germany's largest 30 companies at the start of trading was the German sportswear manufacturer Adidas, with its shares up 1.51 percent, followed by the dialysis specialist Fresenius Medical Care (FMC) with 0.71 percent and industrial gas producer Linde with 0.55 percent.
On Monday, British investment bank HSBC raised its price target for FMC from 77 to 78 euros (86.31 U.S. dollars) and left the rating at "buy." Shares of FMC were trading at around 67 euros shortly after trading started.
Shares of SAP and Deutsche Bank both fell by 0.52 percent. The German software company and Germany's largest banking institute were the biggest losers at the start of trading on Monday.
The German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on Monday that 45.4 million people had been employed in Germany in the third quarter of 2019. It was the highest employment figure since Germany's reunification in 1990, up 0.3 percent compared to the previous quarter.
On Monday, German carmaker Volkswagen's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Herbert Diess is set to present Volkswagen's strategy to financial market experts in the German city of Wolfsburg.
Meanwhile, a mass lawsuit against Volkswagen is scheduled to continue on Monday. The Germany's largest carmaker is accused of manipulating exhaust systems and is facing a mass lawsuit filed by the Federation of German Consumer Organizations and the General German Automobile Club on behalf of German consumers.
The euro increased slightly by 0.24 percent on Monday morning, trading at 1.1053 U.S. dollars.
