German shares fell slightly in early trading Thursday on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, while the euro was lower against the dollar on currency markets. The 30-share DAX lost 0.52 per cent to 4383 points in the first few minutes of trading. The 70-share mid-cap MDAX edged 0.26 per cent lower to 5835 points, while the tech stocks index TecDAX fell 0.32 per cent to 529 points. The euro was trading a half-cent below Wednesday's reference rate of 1.2922 dollars in Europe on Thursday morning. At 1.2873 dollars, the euro was changing hands at 77.64 euro-cents for the dollar. Analysts said the dollar gains were linked to spring economic projections by the International Monetary Fund which predict 3.6 per cent growth for the U.S. economy this year but only 0.8 per cent for Germany.
