German shares slipped a fraction at the start of trading Friday on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, while the euro was also slightly weaker on currency markets. The 30-share DAX edged down by 0.12 per cent to 3900 points in the first few minutes of trading, while the MDAX list of 70 mid-caps shed 0.13 per cent to 4993 points. The tech stocks index TecDAX slipped 0.18 per cent to 489 points. The euro was quoted at 1.2275 dollars in early trading on European exchanges, off nearly half a cent from its 1.2315 dollars European Central Bank reference rate Thursday. The morning rate - equating to 81.42 euro-cents per dollar - follows the erosion in the euro's value late Thursday as analysts took in the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) protocol of its last meeting which indicated that the Fed is not going to interrupt its course of boosting interest rates. At its Tuesday meeting, the FOMC delivered a one-quarter point hike to boost its benchmark rate to 1.75 per cent.
