Inflation data from Germany did not give the Dax any fresh impetus on Tuesday either. The direction of price development in November was correct, because the price increase had slowed down, said Thomas Altmann, portfolio manager at QC Partners. "But it's still too early to give the all-clear." In addition, after the US inflation data, which was also recently declining, there was "strong pre-celebration" on the stock exchanges.

In the afternoon, the leading German index was up 0.04 percent at 14,389.05 points. The MDax for medium-sized stocks fell by 0.76 percent to 25,398.24 points. The EuroStoxx 50 was stable at plus 0.08 percent.

Among the individual stocks, Munich Re shares temporarily broke the EUR 300 hurdle and reached their highest level since March 2002. Most recently, they cost EUR 300 with a plus of 1.6 percent. Allianz and Talanx shares also increased. Like banks, insurers are among the beneficiaries of rising interest rates.

Knorr- Bremse shares climbed to the top of the MDax and gained 1.7 percent. A plan by French President Emmanuel Macron to expand local public transport in important cities was supported. Macron announced that he wants to create a rapid transit network similar to that in Paris in ten cities. Such an announcement is gratifying for train manufacturers such as Alstom and CAF, but also for suppliers such as Knorr- Bremse or Vossloh, said a dealer.

The euro was trading at $1.0363 in the early afternoon. The ECB set the reference rate at $1.0463 on Monday.

On the bond market, the current yield fell to 1.89 percent from 1.96 percent the previous day. The Rex pension index rose by 0.28 percent to 127.95 points. The Bund future gained 0.51 percent to 141.14 points.