German's DAX moved sideways near intraday lows toward the end of trade on bearish impetus from U.S. stock markets, which saw the Nasdaq Composite and the Dow showing signs of weakness. In overall thin turnover, Deutsche Telekom AG was near the top of daily percentage gainers as new merger speculation hit this sector of the market. Metro AG was pressured by possible exclusion from the Euro Stoxx-50 index. The DAX was last down 20.85 at 7302.13 points in electronic Xetra trade by 1712 GMT.

* * * Deutsche Telekom was last up 3.9% at 36.65 euros. The Wall Street Journal reported Monday that several telecoms companies were showing interest in buying Sonera Oyj, Finland's largest mobile phone operator. The paper identified Deutsche Telekom AG and British Telecommunications Plc as potential bidders as well as Orange, citing people familiar with the situation. The stock is also said to be up on expectations that Germany's third-generation UMTS mobile phone license auction is about to come to an end. The total of highest bids in the 138th round, the final for the day, stood at more than 78 billion euros and thus exceeds the earlier UMTS record set in the United Kingdom. Retailer Metro AG and insurance group Munich Re AG were lower in late trade. Metro is likely to drop out of the Euro Stoxx-50 index due to low market capitalization and Munich Re could suffer a severe reduction in its weighting in this index. Stoxx Ltd, the creator of the index, will decide on the new composition of the Euro Stoxx-50 and the Stoxx index at its regular meeting Tuesday. Metro shares were last down 3.3% at 45.25 euros while Munich Re was down 3.9% at 333.00 euros. Preussag shares were picked up by bargain-hunters following recent sharp losses. The shares outperformed the rest of the market, last gaining 3.6% to 36.55 euros. The DAX is expected to face another day of lethargic trading Tuesday, with Metro AG and Munich Re AG likely to come under further pressure. Telecommunications shares could post further gains on ongoing merger speculation.

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WHOLESALE INVENTORIES ROSE 0.9 PERCENT
The Commerce Department said Monday that wholesale inventories rose 0.9 percent in June after rising a revised 0.9 percent in May, which was originally reported as rising 0.8 percent. Most economists on Wall Street were expecting inventories to rise 0.5 percent during the month. Full Story

US EQUITIES MIDDAY: WAVERING, SEEKING DIRECTION IN NEWS VACUUM
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