what is the dax stock index 
the dax stock index is a stock index that represents 40 of the largest and most liquid german companies that trade on the frankfurt stock exchange the dax uses a free float methodology to calculate its weightings it was created in 1988 with a starting index level of 1 163 points dax member companies represent roughly 80 of the aggregate market capitalization that trades on the frankfurt exchange 1 the index was historically comprised of 30 companies but was expanded to 40 in 2021 2understanding the dax stock indexthe dax index tracks 40 large and actively traded german companies it is considered by many analysts to be a gauge of germany s economic health the companies listed in the dax are multinational corporations that influence both germany s economy and the global economy at large the success of these companies has greatly contributed to what is known as the german economic miracle or wirtschaftswunder a term that describes germany s rebirth after world war ii 3the companies in the dax index span a wide range of industries for example the prices used to calculate the dax index come through xetra an electronic trading system a free float methodology is used to calculate the index weightings along with a measure of the average trading volume the dax is also known as the deutscher aktien index or the ger40 special considerationsunlike most indices the dax is updated with futures prices for the next day even after the main stock exchange has closed changes are made on regular review dates but index members can be removed at any time if they no longer rank in the top 45 largest companies or added if they break the top 25 3the vast majority of shares on the frankfurt exchange now trade on the all electronic xetra system with a high adoption rate for the stocks of the 40 dax members as a blue chip stock market index the dax is very similar to the dow jones industrial average djia which also tracks large publicly owned companies dax stock index componentsthe following is a list of the companies listed on the dax this list in alphabetical order is updated as of june 14 2024 4dax stock index vs other stock indices