The Dax also remains trendless on the second trading day of the week. Investors are waiting at the highest level in more than a year for fresh impetus from Wall Street, which will return from the long weekend on Tuesday.

In early trading, the Dax fell slightly by 0.18 percent to 15,449.47 points. Since the high for the year two weeks ago at 15,658 points, the leading German index has made no more progress - mainly because of interest rate concerns that have boiled up again in the USA and Europe. In the course of the day, purchasing manager indices could come into focus, initially those from the euro zone. However, investors are currently focusing more on data from the USA.

In the first few minutes on Tuesday, the MDax was almost at the level of the previous day at 28,799.05 points. The EuroStoxx 50 meanwhile fell by 0.31 percent to 4257.99 points.