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DAX
Dax-chart-1959-2019.png
Foundation 1 July 1988
Operator STOXX (Qontigo, Deutsche Börse)
Exchanges Frankfurt Stock Exchange
Constituents 40 (expanded from 30 in 2021)
Type Large cap
Market cap 1,245 billion (7 May 2021)
Weighting method Capitalization-weighted
Related indices MDAX, SDAX, TecDAX, ÖkoDAX
Website DAX homepage

The DAX (Deutscher Aktienindex (German stock index); German pronunciation: [daks]) is a stock market index consisting of the 40 major German blue chip companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. It is a total return index. Prices are taken from the Xetra trading venue. According to Deutsche Börse, the operator of Xetra, DAX measures the performance of the Prime Standard's 40 largest German companies in terms of order book volume and market capitalization. DAX is the equivalent of the UK FTSE 100 and the US Dow Jones Industrial Average, and because of its small company selection it does not necessarily represent the vitality of the German economy as a whole.

The L-DAX Index is an indicator of the German benchmark DAX index's performance after the Xetra trading venue closes based on the floor trading at the Börse Frankfurt trading venue. The L-DAX Index basis is the "floor" trade (Parketthandel) at the Frankfurt stock exchange; it is computed daily between 09:00 and 17:45 Hours CET. The L/E-DAX index (Late/Early DAX) is calculated from 17:55 to 22:00 CET and from 08:00 to 09:00 CET. The Eurex, a European electronic futures and options exchange based in Zürich, Switzerland with a subsidiary in Frankfurt, Germany, offers options (ODAX) and Futures (FDAX) on the DAX from 01:10 to 22:00 CET or from 02:10 to 22:00 CEST.

The Base date for the DAX is 30 December 1987, and it was started from a base value of 1,000. The Xetra technology calculates the index every second since 1 January 2006.

On 24 Nov 2020, Deutsche Börse announced an expansion of the DAX from 30 to 40 members and a tightening of rules in response to the Wirecard accounting scandal. The expansion occurred in the 3rd quarter of 2021.

Versions

The DAX has two versions, called performance index and price index, depending on whether dividends are counted. The performance index, which measures total return, is the more commonly quoted, however the price index is more similar to commonly quoted indexes in other countries.

Contract Specifications

DAX futures are traded on the Deutsche Borse Indices & ETF exchange (DBIndex). The contract specifications for the DAX Combined Index (ticker symbol DAXA) are listed below:

Contract Specifications
DAX Combined Index (DAXA)
Exchange: DBIndex
Sector: Index
Tick Size: 0.01
Tick Value: 1 EUR
Big Point Value (BPV): 100
Denomination: EUR
Decimal Place: 2

Price history

On 16 March 2015, the performance index first closed above 12,000. On 10 April 2015, the price index first closed above its closing high from 2000.

Record values

Category All-time highs
Closing 18,492.49 Thursday, 28 March 2024
Intraday 18,567.16 Tuesday, 2 April 2024

Annual returns

The following collapsible table shows the annual development of the DAX, calculated retroactively up to 1950.

Year Closing level Change in Index
in Points
Change in Index
in %
1950 30.18 −2.42 −7.42
1951 65.01 34.83 115.41
1952 59.75 −5.26 −8.09
1953 74.09 14.34 24.00
1954 135.28 61.19 82.59
1955 148.81 13.53 10.00
1956 137.80 −11.01 −7.40
1957 144.97 7.17 5.20
1958 232.23 87.26 60.19
1959 417.79 185.56 79.90
1960 534.09 116.30 27.84
1961 489.79 −44.30 −8.29
1962 386.32 −103.47 −21.13
1963 438.95 52.63 13.62
1964 477.89 38.94 8.87
1965 422.36 −55.53 −11.62
1966 333.36 −89.00 −21.07
1967 503.22 169.86 50.95
1968 555.62 52.40 10.41
1969 622.38 66.76 12.02
1970 443.86 −178.52 −28.68
1971 473.46 29.60 6.67
1972 536.36 62.90 13.29
1973 403.88 −132.48 −24.70
1974 401.79 −2.09 −0.52
1975 563.25 161.46 40.19
1976 509.02 −54.23 −9.63
1977 549.34 40.32 7.92
1978 575.15 25.81 4.70
1979 497.79 −77.36 −13.45
1980 480.92 −16.87 −3.39
1981 490.39 9.47 1.97
1982 552.77 62.38 12.72
1983 773.95 221.18 40.01
1984 820.91 46.96 6.07
1985 1,366.23 545.32 66.43
1986 1,432.25 66.02 4.83
1987 1,000.00 −432.25 −30.18
1988 1,327.87 327.87 32.79
1989 1,790.37 462.50 34.83
1990 1,398.23 −392.14 −21.90
1991 1,577.98 179.75 12.86
1992 1,545.05 −32.93 −2.09
1993 2,266.68 721.63 46.71
1994 2,106.58 −160.10 −7.06
1995 2,253.88 147.30 6.99
1996 2,888.69 634.81 28.17
1997 4,249.69 1,361.00 47.11
1998 5,002.39 752.70 17.71
1999 6,958.14 1,955.75 39.10
2000 6,433.61 −524.53 −7.54
2001 5,160.10 −1,273.51 −19.79
2002 2,892.63 −2,267.47 −43.94
2003 3,965.16 1,072.53 37.08
2004 4,256.08 290.92 7.34
2005 5,408.26 1,152.18 27.07
2006 6,596.92 1,188.66 21.98
2007 8,067.32 1,470.40 22.29
2008 4,810.20 −3,257.12 −40.37
2009 5,957.43 1,147.23 23.85
2010 6,914.19 956.76 16.06
2011 5,898.35 −1,015.84 −14.69
2012 7,612.39 1,714.04 29.06
2013 9,552.16 1,939.77 24.77
2014 9,805.55 253.39 2.65
2015 10,743.01 937.46 9.56
2016 11,481.06 738.05 6.87
2017 12,917.64 1,436.58 12.51
2018 10,558.96 −2,358.68 −18.26
2019 13,249.01 2,690.05 25.48
2020 13,718.78 469.77 3.55
2021 15,884.86 2,166.08 15.79
2022 13,923.59 −1,961.27 −12.35
2023 16,751.64 2,828.05 20.31

Components

Below is the list of companies which are a component of the DAX 40, as of 20 March 2023. The current stock prices and list of DAX companies are available from financial websites. The index weighting refers to the DAX performance index.

Logo Company Prime Standard Sector Ticker Index weighting (%) Employees Founded
Adidas-group-logo-fr.svg Adidas Apparel ADS.DE 2.0 061,401 (2021) 1924
Airbus Logo 2017.svg Airbus Aerospace & Defence AIR.DE 6.0 126.495 (2021) 1970
Allianz.svg Allianz Financial Services ALV.DE 7.1 155,411 (2021) 1890
BASF-Logo bw.svg BASF Chemicals BAS.DE 3.5 111,047 (2021) 1865
Logo Bayer.svg Bayer Pharmaceuticals BAYN.DE 4.8 099,637 (2021) 1863
Beiersdorf Logo.svg Beiersdorf Consumer goods BEI.DE 0.9 020,567 (2021) 1882
BMW logo (gray).svg BMW Automotive BMW.DE 2.5 118,909 (2021) 1916
Brenntag Logo 2022.svg Brenntag Distribution BNR.DE 0.9 017,200 (2021) 1874
Commerzbank (2009).svg Commerzbank Financial Services CBK.DE 0.8 040,181 (2021) 1870
Continental wordmark.svg Continental Automotive CON.DE 0.6 190,875 (2021) 1871
Covestro Logo.svg Covestro Chemicals 1COV.DE 0.6 017,909 (2021) 2015
Daimler Truck Logo.svg Daimler Truck Automotive DTG.DE 1.1 099,849 (2021) 2021
Deutsche Bank logo without wordmark.svg Deutsche Bank Financial Services DBK.DE 1.6 082,969 (2021) 1870
Deutsche Börse Financial Services DB1.DE 2.7 010,200 (2021) 1992
Deutsche Post DHL.svg Deutsche Post Logistics DHL.DE 3.4 592,263 (2021) 1995
Deutsche Telekom 2022.svg Deutsche Telekom Telecommunication DTE.DE 6.5 216,528 (2021) 1995
Logo E.ON.svg E.ON Utilities EOAN.DE 1.9 078,126 (2021) 2000
Fresenius.svg Fresenius Healthcare FRE.DE 0.8 316,078 (2021) 1912
HannoverRe.svg Hannover Re Insurance HNR1.DE 0.8 003,346 (2021) 1966
HeidelbergCement 2022 logo.svg Heidelberg Materials Construction Materials HEI.DE 0.7 051,209 (2021) 1874
Henkel-Logo.svg Henkel Consumer Goods HEN3.DE 0.9 052,450 (2021) 1876
Infineon-Logo.svg Infineon Technologies Technology IFX.DE 3.9 050,280 (2021) 1999
Mercedes-Benz Group black.svg Mercedes-Benz Group Automotive MBG.DE 4.8 172,000 (2021) 1926
Logo Merck KGaA 2015.svg Merck Pharmaceuticals MRK.DE 1.8 008,081 (2021) 1668
MTU Aero Engines Logo.svg MTU Aero Engines Aerospace & Defence MTX.DE 1.0 010,833 (2022) 1934
Münchener Rück logo.svg Munich Re Financial Services MUV2.DE 3.6 040,177 (2022) 1880
Porsche Automotive P911.DE 1.1 036,996 (2021) 1931
Porsche SE Logo.svg Porsche SE Automotive PAH3.DE 0.6 000,882 (2021) 2007
Qiagen.svg Qiagen Biotech QIA.DE 0.8 005,900 (2021) 1984
Rheinmetall Logo 2021.svg Rheinmetall Aerospace & Defence RHM.DE 025.486 (2022) 1889
RWE Logo 2020.svg RWE Utilities RWE.DE 2.2 018,246 (2021) 1898
SAP 2011 logo.svg SAP Technology SAP.DE 10.1 107,415 (2021) 1972
Sartorius-Logo-2020.svg Sartorius Medical Technology SRT3.DE 0.8 018,832 (2021) 1870
Siemens AG logo.svg Siemens Industrials SIE.DE 9.0 303,000 (2021) 1847
Siemens Energy logo.svg Siemens Energy Energy technology ENR.DE 0.7 092,000 (2021) 2020
Siemens Healthineers logo.svg Siemens Healthineers Medical Equipment SHL.DE 1.2 066,000 (2021) 2020
Symrise Logo 2016.svg Symrise Chemicals SY1.DE 1.1 011,276 (2021) 2003
Volkswagen Group.svg Volkswagen Group Automotive VOW3.DE 2.4 672,800 (2021) 1937
Vonovia Logo.svg Vonovia Real Estate VNA.DE 1.1 015,900 (2022) 2001
Zalando 201x logo.svg Zalando E-Commerce ZAL.DE 0.7 017,000 (2021) 2008

: Weightings as of 23 March 2023

Former DAX components

This table lists former DAX components and the companies which replaced them.

Date Component excluded Component included Reason for exclusion/ Comments
03.09.1990 Feldmühle Nobel Metallgesellschaft Takeover of Feldmühle Nobel by Stora Enso
Nixdorf Germany Preussag (now TUI) Merged with Siemens to form Siemens-Nixdorf
18.09.1995 Deutsche Babcock SAP Replaced by SAP because of lower market capitalisation
22.07.1996 Kaufhof METRO Merger of Kaufhof and Metro Cash & Carry
23.09.1996 Continental Münchener Rück Continental was added back to the DAX on 22 September 2003, though it was demoted again in 2008 and added back again in 2012
18.11.1996 Metallgesellschaft Deutsche Telekom IPO of Deutsche Telekom
22.06.1998 Bayerische Hypotheken-
und Wechselbank
Adidas Merger of Vereinsbank and Hypobank to form HypoVereinsbank
Bayerische Vereinsbank HypoVereinsbank
21.12.1998 Daimler-Benz DaimlerChrysler
(now Daimler)
Merger of Daimler-Benz with Chrysler
22.03.1999 Degussa Degussa-Hüls Merger of Degussa AG with Hüls AG and renaming to Degussa-Hüls AG
25.03.1999 Thyssen ThyssenKrupp Merger of Thyssen and Krupp
20.09.1999 Hoechst Fresenius Medical Care Merger of Hoechst and Rhône-Poulenc with Aventis
14.02.2000 Mannesmann Epcos Takeover of Mannesmann by Vodafone
19.06.2000 Veba E.ON Merger of Veba and Viag to form E.ON
VIAG Infineon
18.12.2000 Degussa-Hüls Degussa Merger of Degussa-Hüls AG and SKW Trostberg AG to new Degussa AG
19.03.2001 KarstadtQuelle Deutsche Post IPO of Deutsche Post
23.07.2001 Dresdner Bank MLP Vz. Takeover of Dresdner Bank by Allianz
23.09.2002 Degussa Altana Inadequate market capitalisation
23.12.2002 Epcos Deutsche Börse Fast-exit of Epcos, as Epcos' market capitalisation became inadequate.
22.09.2003 MLP Continental Inadequate free float and market capitalisation.
31.01.2005 Lanxess Lanxess was spun off from Bayer, for calculating reasons added to the DAX as a temporary 31st component, and removed a day later. It was added to the DAX in 2012 and removed again in 2015.
01.02.2005 Lanxess
19.12.2005 HypoVereinsbank Hypo Real Estate Takeover of HypoVereinsbank by UniCredit
18.09.2006 Schering Postbank Takeover of Schering by Bayer
18.06.2007 Altana Merck After the sale of Nycomed, inadequate market capitalisation
22.09.2008 TUI K+S Fast-entry of K+S, inadequate market capitalisation of TUI
22.12.2008 Continental Beiersdorf Fast-exit of Continental because of inadequate free-float market capitalisation after the acquisition by Schaeffler Group
22.12.2008 Hypo Real Estate Salzgitter Fast-exit of Hypo Real Estate because of inadequate free-float market capitalisation after a stake by American investor JC Flowers, as well as huge decline in market capitalisation during the Financial crisis of 2007–2010
23.03.2009 Deutsche Postbank Hannover Re Fast-exit due to inadequate market capitalisation
Infineon Technologies Fresenius Vz
21.09.2009 Hannover Re Infineon Technologies Inadequate market capitalisation
21.06.2010 Salzgitter HeidelbergCement Inadequate market capitalisation
24.09.2012 MAN Continental Inadequate free-float capitalisation after acquisition by Volkswagen
24.09.2012 Metro Lanxess Inadequate market capitalisation
21.09.2015 Lanxess Vonovia Inadequate market capitalisation
21.03.2016 K+S ProSiebenSat.1 Media Inadequate market capitalisation
19.03.2018 ProSiebenSat.1 Media Covestro Inadequate market capitalisation
24.09.2018 Commerzbank Wirecard Inadequate market capitalisation
23.09.2019 ThyssenKrupp MTU Aero Engines Inadequate market capitalisation
22.06.2020 Deutsche Lufthansa Deutsche Wohnen Inadequate market capitalisation
19.08.2020 Wirecard Delivery Hero new Insolvency Rule (section 5.1.1)
22.03.2021 Beiersdorf Siemens Energy Inadequate market capitalisation
16.09.2021 Vitesco Vitesco was spun off from Continental, for calculating reasons added to the DAX as a temporary 31st component, and removed a day later.
17.09.2021 Vitesco
20.09.2021 Airbus 10 companies added to expand DAX to 40 components
Brenntag
HelloFresh
Porsche SE
Puma
Qiagen
Sartorius
Siemens Healthineers
Symrise
Zalando
29.10.2021 Deutsche Wohnen Beiersdorf
10.12.2021 Daimler Truck Daimler Truck was spun off from Mercedes-Benz, for calculating reasons added to the DAX as a temporary 41st component, and removed next trading day. It was added to the DAX again in 2022.
13.12.2021 Daimler Truck
21.03.2022 Beiersdorf Daimler Truck
Siemens Energy Hannover Re
20.06.2022 Delivery Hero Beiersdorf
19.09.2022 HelloFresh Siemens Energy
19.12.2022 Puma Porsche Initial public offering of Porsche
27.02.2023 Linde Commerzbank Delisting of Linde on Frankfurt stock exchange
20.03.2023 Fresenius Medical Care Rheinmetall
Boerse Frankfurt inside
DAX 30 chart at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange
BMW Z4 M 1
A BMW Z4
Rwegewerbegebiet
The RWE-owned Niederaussem Power Station
Hauptsitze der DAX-Unternehmen 2013
The headquarters of DAX companies in 2013

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: DAX para niños

Stock market lists
  • List of stock exchanges
  • List of European stock exchanges
Other lists
  • List of largest German companies
Other stock market indices
  • List of stock market indices
  • CDAX, every listed German company
  • HDAX, union of DAX, MDAX and TecDAX (successor to DAX 100, and equivalent of the FTSE 100 or the S&P 100)
  • MDAX, the next 50 largest companies after the DAX
  • SDAX, the next 70 largest companies after the MDAX
  • ÖkoDAX, top 10 companies in renewable energy
  • TecDAX, top 30 companies trading in the "new economy"
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