Germany’s DAX Declines From Record, Snapping 10-Day Rally

German stocks declined, snapping 10 days of gains, as the benchmark DAX (DAX) Index fell from a record and bank shares retreated.

Deutsche Bank, the country's biggest lender, fell 1.9 percent. Commerzbank dropped 4.3 percent. Daimler AG (DAI) helped lead a gauge of European automotive companies lower.

The DAX slipped 0.4 percent to 8,424.05 at 10:46 a.m. in Frankfurt. The benchmark has still rallied 11 percent this year as central banks around the world maintained monetary stimulus. The HDAX Index also slid 0.4 percent today.

"Markets are taking a breather but the dips will be bought most likely," Ion-Marc Valahu, co-founder and fund manager at Clairinvest in Geneva, wrote in an e-mail.

The volume of shares changing hands on DAX-listed companies was 12 percent greater than the average of the past 30 days, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

Fed Bank of St. Louis President James Bullard is due to speak on central-bank policy at the Institute for Monetary and Financial Stability at 5:30 p.m. in Frankfurt today.

Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank, Germany's two biggest lenders, fell 1.9 percent to 36.82 euros and 4.3 percent to 8.14 euros, respectively.

Volkswagen, Europe's biggest automaker, slipped 1.6 percent to 171.10 euros. Daimler AG, the world's third-biggest maker of luxury cars, lost 2.8 percent to 48.98 euros.

Continental AG (CON), Europe's second largest auto-parts supplier, fell 2.1 percent to 98.47 euros after UBS AG added the shares to its least-preferred list.

Zooplus AG (ZO1), an online provider of pet supplies, slipped 2.3 percent to 40 euros after posting first-quarter net loss.

Chemicals Gain

Bayer AG (BAYN), the maker of drugs and agricultural chemicals, added 0.6 percent to 84.66 euros after saying its experimental riociguat pill produced positive data from a patent-2 trial.

Wacker Chemie AG (WCH), the fourth-biggest producer of polysilicon, gained 3.1 percent to 53.20 euros, its biggest increase in three weeks. A gauge of chemical makers was one of the best performers among the 19 industry groups in the Stoxx Europe 600 Index.