Frankfurt, Sep 22 (IANS): The benchmark DAX index at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Monday advanced and closed at 9,948.51 points.

The Volkswagen emissions manipulations scandal made investors worry and the blue-chip index tumbled during the trading in the morning, Xinhua news agency reported.

The rise of the US stock markets, on the other hand, encouraged investors and the DAX index closed up, according to local analysts. It added 32.35 points.

Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co. topped the list of risers with an increase of 3.39 percent. Merck KGaA, a pharmaceutical, chemical and life science company, advanced by 3.31 percent.

Bayer AG rose by 2.69 percent. Beiersdorf Aktiengesellschaft, a skin care company, climbed by 2.33 percent.

The carmaker Volkswagen AG Vz suffered a slump, down by 18.6 percent. The utilities company RWE AG St lost 4.91 percent.

The other auto-related companies, Continental AG, BMW AG St and Daimler AG slid by 3.36 percent, 1.53 percent and 1.43 percent respectively.

The turnover stood at 5.55 bn euros (around $6.27 bn). Volkswagen AG Vz was the most traded share of the day with a turnover of 1.82 bn euros (around $2.06 bn).