Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) -- The following is a list of companies whose shares may have unusual price changes in Germany. Stock symbols are in parentheses and prices are from the previous close.

DAX Index futures expiring in December rose 0.3 percent to 5,770.00 as of 8:34 a.m. in Frankfurt. The DAX Index fell 0.4 percent to 5,740.25 on Oct. 23.

BASF AG (BAS GY): The world’s largest chemical maker, Croda International, Lanxess AG, and Rhodia SA were cut to “neutral” from “overweight” at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

“On the whole, we expect the Q3 earnings season to trigger substantial earnings upgrades,” analysts wrote in a report. “But 2010 may present obstacles to further progress.”

BASF shares dropped 1 percent to 39.16 euros.

Centrotec Sustainable AG (CEV GY) said its stake in Centrosolar Group AG (C3O GY) will likely be diluted to 26.2 percent as a result of Centrosolar’s capital increase. Centrotec shares jumped 4 percent to 9.20 euros, while Centrosolar shares were unchanged at 4.15 euros.

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW GY): The world’s largest luxury carmaker will link executive pay to workers’ wages to prevent the salary gap from widening, Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung reported, citing Harald Krueger, head of staff. The correlation between worker and executive salaries will remain stable from next year, the newspaper said. The shares rose 1.1 percent to 35.94 euros.

Kontron AG (KBC GY): The maker of miniature computers for slot machines and drone aircraft said nine-month net income fell to 13.7 million euros ($20.6 million) from 25.4 million euros. The shares climbed 1.1 percent to 8.34 euros.

Merck KGaA (MRK GY): The company’s profit fell for a fifth quarter even as sales of liquid crystals used in flat-screen electronics recovered. Net income decreased to 144.4 million euros from 200.1 million euros a year earlier, the drugmaker said. Core earnings were 1.26 euros a share, beating the median estimate of 1.25 euros of eight analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Sales rose 2.6 percent to 1.94 billion euros. The shares slipped 0.9 percent to 69.50 euros.

Siemens AG (SIE GY): Europe’s biggest engineering company plans to cut an unspecified number of jobs because of the economic crisis, Welt am Sonntag reported today, citing Chief Executive Officer Peter Loescher. The report was confirmed by Siemens spokesman Constantin Birnstiel in an interview. The shares fell 0.8 percent to 65.55 euros.

Volkswagen AG (VOW GY): The German car maker’s luxury- vehicle brand Audi will invest 1.9 billion euros in its German production sites in 2009 and 2010, Automobilwoche reported. Audi also wants to keep the number of workers “stable” in the factories, the newsmagazine said, citing an interview with the unit’s Chief Financial Officer Axel Strotbek. The shares fell 1.3 percent to 115 euros.

Wacker Chemie AG (WCH GY): The supplier of polysilicon for semiconductors had increased third-quarter sales compared with the prior three months as demand for silicon wafers rose, Chief Executive Officer Rudolf Staudigl told Wirtschaftswoche in an interview. Profitability also improved, according to the magazine. Wacker still expects lower full-year profit and sales, Wirtschaftswoche said. The shares were little changed at 106.99 euros.

To contact the reporters on this story: Holger Elfes in Dusseldorf at helfes@bloomberg.net; Julie Cruz in Frankfurt at jcruz6@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: October 26, 2009 03:38 EDT