DAX 30 Index

The DAX 30 is a blue chip stock index made up of the top 30 German companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The DAX (an abbreviation for Deutscher Aktienindex) measures the performance of the companies in terms of order book volume and market capitalization.

The Frankfurt Stock Exchange is operated by the Deutsche Borse Group and includes more than 90 percent of the turnover in the German market. The origins of the exchange go back to the Ninth Century and a letter by Emperor Louis the German to hold free trade fairs. By the 16th century Frankfurt had developed into a financial center.

The Frankfurt Stock Exchange became the leading stock exchange in Germany in 1949 and became famous for its incoming national and international investments. In 1993 it became known as Deutsche Borse AG. Twice the exchange negotiated the purchase of the London Stock Exchange, but those talks broke off in 2005.

The Frankfurt Exchange total has a turnover of more than 5.2 trillion (euros) each year, making it the world's third-largest stock market and the second-largest by market capitalization.

The DAX 30 was founded in July 1988 and is considered a large-cap, value-weighted fund. The market cap in 2008 was more than 432 billion euros.

The largest companies in the index are: E.ON (multi-utilities), Deutsche Telekom (fixed-line telecommunications), Allianz (insurance), Siemens (diversified industrials), RWE (multi-utilities), Munich Re (insurance), Volkswagen Group (automobiles), Daimler (automobiles), Bayer (specialty chemicals), BASF (specialty chemicals), and Deutsche Bank (credit banks).

The index is reviewed quarterly and changed if companies gain or lose market share. In December 2008, Beiersdorf and Salzgitter replaced Continental and Hypo Real Estate. In March 2009, Fresenius Pref and Hannover Ruckeversicherung replaced Infineon and Deutsche Postbank.

The Deutsche Borse Group is a major sponsor of photographic art collection of contemporary photography. The collection includes more than 700 works by more than 60 international artists.

DAX 30 Index Articles - by BetterTrades