German shares posted small gains at the start of a new week of trading Monday on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange while the euro was firm on currency markets. The 30-share DAX rose 0.4 per cent to 4158 points in the first few minutes of business, while the MDAX list of 70 mid-caps gained 0.3 per cent to 5217 points. The TecDAX tech stocks list rose 0.5 per cent to 517 points. Meanwhile the euro was firm in early currency trading on European markets, with exchanges quoting 1.2975 dollars or 77.04 euro-cents per dollar. The rate was up from the 1.2921 dollars European Central Bank reference pegging on Friday. Money traders said they expected the dollar to remain under pressure, despite the most recent U.S. Federal Reserve rate hike, due to worries over the massive U.S. budget and current accounts deficits.
