Volkswagen shares open 4.6% higher after CEO resigns

Shares in Volkswagen opened 4.6 percent higher on the Frankfurt stock exchange on Thursday, a day after the German auto giant's chief executive resigned in the wake of the massive pollution scandal. VW shares opened at 116.60 euros after already bouncing back strongly the day before as investors snapped up cheap bargains following the meltdown in the share price earlier this week as the extent of the scandal became apparent. At 0720 GMT, they were showing a gain of 5.2 percent at 117.30 euros, pulling up the overall blue-chip DAX 30 index by 0.45 percent.

CEO Martin Winterkorn stepped down yesterday, taking responsibility for one of the biggest scandals ever in the German auto sector. "I am shocked by the events of the past few days. Above all, I am stunned that misconduct on such a scale was possible in the Volkswagen Group," Winterkorn said in a statement issued by the carmaker.

"Volkswagen needs a fresh start -- also in terms of personnel. I am clearing the way for this fresh start with my resignation." His successor was expected to be announced tomorrow. Even if the haemorrhage on the markets may have abated, Volkswagen, the world's largest auto manufacturer by sales in the first half of this year, still faces a growing tangle of legal threats after it admitted that as many as 11 million of its diesel cars worldwide are equipped with software capable of fooling official pollution tests.