Escada autumn-winter 2009

Shares in Escada (ESCG.DE) rise more than 158 percent, making the shares the top gainer in the German stock universe as traders pointed to continued interest in the stock after the daughter in law of Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal (ISPA.AS) said she was buying the insolvent company's assets. "The stock is now really just the playground for very speculative investors, but is still gaining off the news," says a Frankfurt-based trader.

A second trader says that he sees no real reason why investors would want to purchase the stock as Megha Mittal is only buying the assets of the German fashion house and not the company itself. The stock is just a "shell corporation" and should largely trade independently of the news, he adds.