German stocks went up on the Frankfurt market Friday with the main index breaching the 5600 mark for the first time since August 2001.

The benchmark DAX Index increased 98.51, or 1.37 percent, to 5647.42 points. Only two of the 30 stocks, TUI and Infineon Techno, fell slightly.

ThyssenKrupp AG, Germany's largest steelmaker, rose 1.64 euros, or 8.1 percent, to 21.95 euros, the highest since May 2000 as the company agreed to pay 68 Canadian dollars a share for Dofasco, Canada's biggest steel company.

Salzgitter AG, Germany's No. 2 steelmaker, gained 4.44 euros, or 8.55 percent, to 55.77 euros. Linde, Europe's largest maker of forklifts, added 3.35 euros, or 5.1 percent, to 68.89 euros.

Friday's MDAX index of medium-sized companies went up 127.82 points to 8,041.87 points.

Earlier this week, surveys showed that confidence of both consumers and business executives in Germany about the economy have gone up.

Source: Xinhua