DAX


The DAX is a blue chip stock market index consisting of the 30 major German companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. 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 30 largest German companies in terms of order book volume and market capitalization. It is the equivalent of the FT 30 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and because of its small selection it does not necessarily represent the vitality of the 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 at the Frankfurt stock exchange; it is computed daily between 08:00 and 17:45 Hours CET. The L/E-DAX index is calculated from 17:45 to 20:00 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 and Futures on the DAX from 08:00 to 22:00 CET.
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.

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. There are two versions of futures contract available: FDAX and FDXM.

Price history

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

Record values

Annual returns

The following table shows the annual development of the DAX, calculated retroactively up to 1950.
YearClosing levelChange in Index
in Points		Change in Index
in %
195030.18−2.42−7.42
195165.0134.83115.41
195259.75−5.26−8.09
195374.0914.3424.00
1954135.2861.1982.59
1955148.8113.5310.00
1956137.80−11.01−7.40
1957144.977.175.20
1958232.2387.2660.19
1959417.79185.5679.90
1960534.09116.3027.84
1961489.79−44.30−8.29
1962386.32−103.47−21.13
1963438.9552.6313.62
1964477.8938.948.87
1965422.36−55.53−11.62
1966333.36−89.00−21.07
1967503.22169.8650.95
1968555.6252.4010.41
1969622.3866.7612.02
1970443.86−178.52−28.68
1971473.4629.606.67
1972536.3662.9013.29
1973403.88−132.48−24.70
1974401.79−2.09−0.52
1975563.25161.4640.19
1976509.02−54.23−9.63
1977549.3440.327.92
1978575.1525.814.70
1979497.79−77.36−13.45
1980480.92−16.87−3.39
1981490.399.471.97
1982552.7762.3812.72
1983773.95221.1840.01
1984820.9146.966.07
19851,366.23545.3266.43
19861,432.2566.024.83
19871,000.00−432.25−30.18
19881,327.87327.8732.79
19891,790.37462.5034.83
19901,398.23−392.14−21.90
19911,577.98179.7512.86
19921,545.05−32.93−2.09
19932,266.68721.6346.71
19942,106.58−160.10−7.06
19952,253.88147.306.99
19962,888.69634.8128.17
19974,249.691,361.0047.11
19985,002.39752.7017.71
19996,958.141,955.7539.10
20006,433.61−524.53−7.54
20015,160.10−1,273.51−19.79
20022,892.63−2,267.47−43.94
20033,965.161,072.5337.08
20044,256.08290.927.34
20055,408.261,152.1827.07
20066,596.921,188.6621.98
20078,067.321,470.4022.29
20084,810.20−3,257.12−40.37
20095,957.431,147.2323.85
20106,914.19956.7616.06
20115,898.35−1,015.84−14.69
20127,612.391,714.0429.06
20139,552.161,939.7724.77
20149,805.55253.392.65
201510,743.01937.469.56
201611,481.06738.056.87
201712,917.641,436.5812.51
201810,558.96−2,358.68−18.26
201913,249.012,690.0525.48

Components

Below is the list of companies which are a component of the DAX 30, as of 2019. The current stock prices and list of DAX companies are available from financial websites.
CompanyPrime Standard industry groupTicker symbolIndex weighting EmployeesFounded
AdidasClothing3.5457,016 1924
AllianzInsurance7.81142,460 1890
BASFChemicals7.98122,404 1865
BayerPharmaceuticals and chemicals8.27110,838 1863
BeiersdorfConsumer goods and chemicals0.9520,059 1882
BMWManufacturing2.75134,682 1916
ContinentalManufacturing2.38243,226 1871
CovestroChemicals1.2816,770 2015
DaimlerManufacturing5.62298,683 1926
Deutsche BankBanking1.7391,463 1870
Deutsche BörseSecurities2.105,964 1992-
Deutsche PostLogistics2.82547,459 1995
Deutsche TelekomCommunications4.47215,675 1995
Deutsche WohnenReal Estate3.549 1998
E.ONEnergy2.0343,302 2000
FreseniusMedical2.77276,750 1912
Fresenius Medical CareMedical1.80118,308 1996
HeidelbergCementBuilding1.1157,939 1874
HenkelConsumer goods and chemicals1.8853,450 1876
Infineon TechnologiesSemiconductors2.7240,100 1999
LindeIndustrial gases3.4958,000 1879
MerckPharmaceuticals1.0651,713 1668
MTU Aero EnginesAerospace10,206 1934
Munich ReInsurance2.7241,410 1880
RWEEnergy1.0717,748 1898
SAPSoftware10.5696,498 1972
SiemensIndustrial, electronics9.34379,000 1847
Volkswagen GroupManufacturing2.88302,554 1937
VonoviaReal estate1.859,923 2001
WirecardFinancial Technology0.854,989 1999

Former DAX components

This table lists former DAX components and the companies which replaced them.
DateComponent excludedComponent includedReason for exclusion/ Comments
03.09.1990Feldmühle NobelMetallgesellschaftTakeover of Feldmühle Nobel by Stora Enso
03.09.1990Nixdorf GermanyPreussag 'Merged with Siemens to form Siemens-Nixdorf
18.09.1995Deutsche BabcockSAPReplaced by SAP because of lower market capitalisation
22.07.1996KaufhofMETROMerger of Kaufhof and Metro Cash & Carry
23.09.1996ContinentalMünchener RückContinental was added back to the DAX on 22 September 2003, though it was demoted again in 2008 and added back again in 2012
18.11.1996MetallgesellschaftDeutsche TelekomIPO of Deutsche Telekom
22.06.1998Bayerische Hypotheken-
und Wechselbank		adidasMerger of Vereinsbank and Hypobank to form HypoVereinsbank
22.06.1998Bayerische VereinsbankHypoVereinsbankMerger of Vereinsbank and Hypobank to form HypoVereinsbank
21.12.1998Daimler-BenzDaimlerChrysler
'		Merger of Daimler-Benz with Chrysler
22.03.1999DegussaDegussa-HülsMerger of Degussa AG with Hüls AG and renaming to Degussa-Hüls AG
25.03.1999ThyssenThyssenKruppMerger of Thyssen and Krupp
20.09.1999HoechstFresenius Medical CareMerger of Hoechst and Rhône-Poulenc with Aventis
14.02.2000MannesmannEpcosTakeover of Mannesmann by Vodafone
19.06.2000VebaE.ONMerger of Veba and Viag to form E.ON
19.06.2000VIAGInfineonMerger of Veba and Viag to form E.ON
18.12.2000Degussa-HülsDegussaMerger of Degussa-Hüls AG and SKW Trostberg AG to new Degussa AG
19.03.2001KarstadtQuelleDeutsche PostIPO of Deutsche Post
23.07.2001Dresdner BankMLP Vz.Takeover of Dresdner Bank by Allianz
23.09.2002DegussaAltanaInadequate market capitalisation
23.12.2002EpcosDeutsche BörseFast-exit of Epcos, as Epcos' market capitalisation became inadequate.
22.09.2003MLPContinentalInadequate free float and market capitalisation.
31.01.2005LanxessLanxess was spun off from Bayer. It was added to the DAX in 2012 and removed in 2015.
01.02.2005LanxessLanxess was spun off from Bayer. It was added to the DAX in 2012 and removed in 2015.
19.12.2005HypoVereinsbankHypo Real EstateTakeover of HypoVereinsbank by UniCredit
18.09.2006ScheringPostbankTakeover of Schering by Bayer
18.06.2007AltanaMerckAfter the sale of Nycomed, inadequate market capitalisation
22.09.2008TUIK+SFast-entry of K+S, inadequate market capitalisation of TUI
22.12.2008ContinentalBeiersdorfFast-exit of Continental because of inadequate free-float market capitalisation after the acquisition by Schaeffler Group
22.12.2008Hypo Real EstateSalzgitterFast-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
23.03.2009Deutsche PostbankHannover ReFast-exit due to inadequate market capitalisation
23.03.2009Infineon TechnologiesFresenius VzFast-exit due to inadequate market capitalisation
21.09.2009Hannover ReInfineon TechnologiesInadequate market capitalisation
21.06.2010SalzgitterHeidelbergCementInadequate market capitalisation
24.09.2012MANContinentalInadequate free-float capitalisation after acquisition by Volkswagen
24.09.2012MetroLanxessInadequate market capitalisation
21.09.2015LanxessVonoviaInadequate market capitalisation
21.03.2016K+SProSiebenSat.1 MediaInadequate market capitalisation
19.03.2018ProSiebenSat.1 MediaCovestroInadequate market capitalisation
24.09.2018CommerzbankWirecardInadequate market capitalisation
04.09.2019ThyssenKruppMTU Aero EnginesInadequate market capitalisation
22.06.2020Deutsche LufthansaDeutsche WohnenInadequate market capitalisation

.
.