Germany's benchmark DAX index declines slightly

The benchmark DAX index at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Thursday declined slightly by 33.99 points and closed at 11,967.39 points.

Investors lacked the desire to buy at the exchange before the Easter holidays and the blue-chip index lost merely 0.28 percent, according to analysts.

K+S Aktiengesellschaft, a standard and speciality fertilizers company topped the list of the risers with a 1.47 percent increase. Infineon Technologies AG, a semiconductor company, climbed by 0.86 percent. Deutsche Boerse AG advanced by 0.84 percent. Beiersdorf Aktiengesellschaft, a personal care company, climbed by 0.73 percent and Henkel AG & Co. KGaA Vz, a laundry and home care company, went up by 0.64 percent.

Daimler AG, which has seen one of the most traded shares at the exchange, dropped by 2.72 percent. Deutsche Lufthansa AG, which is scrambling to handle the aftermath of the crash accident of its budget ariline subsidiary Germanwings, lost 2.57 percent. The utilities company E.ON SE slipped by 1.36 percent. Bayer AG plunged by 1.07 percent and ThyssenKrupp AG slid by 0.7 percent.

The turnover stood at 3.11 billion euros (around 3.35 billion U.S. dollars ). Daimler AG was the most traded share of the day with a turnover of 376.38 million euros (around 405.02 million U.S. dollars). Endit