DAX Index (Germany)

The Deutsche Aktien Index (DAX) is a blue-chip index tracking 30 major stocks on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (FSE), with prices taken from the Xetra electronic trading system that has been in use since 1997. One of the biggest stock exchanges in the world, FSE is also considered the most efficient. Business is conducted from 9 a.m. to 5:35 p.m.; in order to coincide with U.S. trading hours, the Late DAX Index tracks prices from 5:45 p.m. to 8 p.m.

The following 30 companies are tracked by the DAX 30: Adidas AG, the sports apparel manufacturer; Allianz, a financial services and insurance provider; BASF, the largest chemical company in the world; Bayer AG, a chemical and pharmaceutical company; BMW (Bavarian Motor Works), the automobile company; Commerzbank, the second-largest bank in Germany; Continental AG, a manufacturer of tires and auto parts; Daimler AG, the German motor company (no relation to the British Daimler Motors); Deutsche Bank, the largest bank in Germany; Deutsche Börse, a marketplace organizer and transaction services provider; Deutsche Lufthansa, Europe's largest airline; Deutsche Post, a German postal services company; Deutsche Post-bank, a retail bank; Deutsche Telekom, Germany's largest telecommunications company; E.ON, an energy corporation and the largest company on the DAX 30; Fresenius Medical Care, a medical supplies producer; Henkel, a company manufacturing home and personal care supplies; Hypo Real Estate, [Page 476]a holding company for real estate financing banks; Infineon Technologies, a semiconductor manufacturer spun off from Siemens; Linde AG, a gas and engineering company; MAN AG, an engineering company; Merck KGaA, a chemical and pharmaceutical company; METRO AG, a wholesale and retail company; Munich Re, the world's largest reinsurance company; RWE, a power company; SAP AG, the largest European software company; Siemens AG, Europe's largest engineering company; ThyssenKrupp, an industrial conglomerate; TUI AG, a tourism and shipping company; and Volkswagen AG, the automobile manufacturer.