Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) -- German stocks including Deutsche Lufthansa AG rose as oil prices slid, easing concern that higher fuel costs will erode earnings. Volkswagen AG also gained.

Infineon Technologies AG, Europe's second-largest chipmaker, fell. Micron Technology Inc. of the U.S., the world's No. 2 maker of computer-memory chips, had sales that failed to top estimates.

The benchmark DAX Index added 4.06, or 0.1 percent, to 4245.34 as of 12:49 p.m. in Frankfurt. The HDAX Index of the country's 110 biggest companies also added 0.1 percent. DAX March futures rose 0.4 percent to 4266.5.

Lufthansa, Europe's third-largest airline, climbed 9 cents, or 0.9 percent, to 10.46 euros. Crude oil for February delivery fell 37 cents, or 0.8 percent, to $43.87 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The contract yesterday tumbled 3.3 percent after the U.S. Energy Department reported an unexpected rise in inventories.

Volkswagen, Europe's largest automaker, rose 5 cents, or 0.2 percent, to 34.16 euros. Its Chief Executive Bernd Pischetsrieder told Handelsblatt the company's long-term planning for new models includes ``strengthening our position'' in Mexico or Brazil to protect the carmaker from currency shifts.

Infineon shares fell 6 cents, or 0.8 percent, to 7.96 euros. Boise, Idaho-based Micron said in a statement yesterday its sales rose 14 percent to $1.26 billion, compared with the $1.3 billion expected by analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial.

The following stocks are making gains or losses today. Stock symbols are in parentheses after the company names.

Adidas-Salomon AG (ADS GY), the world's second-largest sporting-goods maker, fell 28 cents, or 0.2 percent, to 119.07 euros. Adidas has asked a syndicate of banks to arrange 800 million euros ($1.08 billion) of credit to reduce its financing costs.

Bayer AG (BAY GY), Germany's second-biggest drug and chemical maker, dipped 14 cents, or 0.6 percent, to 25.15 euros. The company said it will end development of its experimental Repinotan drug for stroke after the medicine failed to help patients in a study.

GPC Biotech AG (GPC GY), a biotechnology company that's developing cancer drugs, gained 23 cents, or 2.1 percent, to 11.08 euros. The company said it will get $1.2 million from Altana AG for reaching goals as part of an alliance with the drugmaker.

KarstadtQuelle AG (KAR GY), Germany's largest department- store operator, added 23 cents, or 3.1 percent, to 7.69 euros. The company may have a narrower sales decline in 2004 than originally expected, Reuters said, citing unidentified people after a supervisory board meeting.

MorphoSys AG (MOR GY), a producer of antibodies used in drug research, gained 1.45 euros, or 3.8 percent, to 39.25 euros. The company said it extended a research and development partnership with Johnson & Johnson's Centocor unit.

Vivacon AG (VIA GY), a German real-estate company, added 19 cents, or 3.1 percent, to 6.34 euros. The company expects earnings to rise to a record this year following the biggest apartment sale in the company's history, Chief Executive Marc Leffin said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christopher Fournier in Frankfurt at Cfournier3@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: December 23, 2004 06:52 EST