DAX 30 Trading

Key DAX Facts

• The DAX 30 Index from Germany is a blue chip equity index consisting of 30 of the largest companies in Germany. Many are globally recognized, with names such as Adidas, Merck, and Volkswagen featured.
• The value of the DAX is representative of the broader German market and the performance of the DAX can be used as a way to compare and forecast the performance of its components.
• Those interested in speculating on the value of the DAX can use the CFDs provided by AvaTrade to do so easily after opening an account. Many of the individual constituent companies are also available as CFDs at AvaTrade.

Trading DAX 30

The DAX 30 is the benchmark Stock Market Index (known as the Deutscher Aktienindex), in German Stock Indices and overall economic performance of the country, which lends itself to investor sentiment towards German equities.

The DAX-30 trades on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange of the Deutsche Börse Group, which is the 10^th largest in the world, and third largest in Europe in terms of total market capitalisation of listings. The DAX is capitalisation weighted like France’s CAC 40, and measures the performance of the 30 largest and most publicly traded on companies in Germany, which represent 80% of the total German market capitalisation.

What is the DAX? | AvaTrade Tutorial

DAX History

The index began with a base value of 1,000 on 30 December 1987, and over the years the DAX has been through many mergers, bankruptcies, takeovers and restructures which brought about an unstable outlook and negative investor sentiment.

This was changed, as during 2003 to 2007 the DAX saw upward trends that were record breaking for a consecutive 1,587 days, and enjoyed values exceeding of 8,105 peaks.

Subsequently, as the cycle of most indices trading the DAX saw a pitiful fall in the 2009 ‘credit crunch’ and ended its peak performance at 3,580. However, the index was not down for long, as since the crash in September 2013, the DAX experienced a major peak and a record high of 8,736, following a 1,000-point gain.

The global popularity of German companies that form the DAX 30, have been the backbone of the German economy. The DAX name and reputation has been responsible for carrying these companies in their solid growth and globalisation.

DAX 30 Index composition

The DAX 30 was formulated in 1987, and as mentioned measures the performance of 30 of the most profitable companies in Germany.

For companies to be included in the DAX 30 they need to be listed on the Prime Standard (Frankfurt Stock Exchange), where a minimum of 10% of the listed company’s shares are to be held in public hands as well as a number of other criteria to be considered to become a constituent part of the index.

Reviewed on quarterly basis by the Board of the German Stock Exchange (Deutsche Börse) and according to basic criteria these constituents can be altered. A company is excluded for the index when it’s rank is 45 or lower, this is from criteria that is driven from a free float market capitalisation or a low order book volume.

On the other hand, if a company’s rank is 25 or better than the lower ranking company, the latter will be replaced with the fast entry of the better ranked company.

How the DAX 30 Index is Calculated

The free-float methodology is used in the calculation of the DAX 30 Index. This methodology uses only shares that are readily available for sale and leaves out those that are unavailable, like the shares held by governments. The DAX 30 is a market capitalization weighted index. This means the companies with greater market capitalization also have a greater impact on the overall value of the DAX 30. However, the maximum weight of any listed company is capped at 10%.

Factors that influence the overall index price

As with most indices, CFD’s, Stocks, commodities, etc. the DAX, like any other instrument, reacts directly to factors that occur globally. Events such as economic breaking news, political unrest, even natural disasters. These are mainly due to import / export activities that will influence the demand in each company’s industrial sector, that in turn affects the index as a whole.

Keeping abreast of economic data from Germany as well as most of Europe is a smart trading move when you are trading DAX index.

Following the DAX live charts during DAX index trading is another method to understand the DAX CFD trading trends, especially when there are announcements that include: Job creation, unemployment rate, GDP figures and other economic benchmarks.

Constituents of Germany’s DAX 30 Index

There are a total of 30 companies included in the DAX Index, and those include these 10 globally recognized firms as of September 2020:

Adidas AG: Adidas is a designed of sports apparel, best known for its line of athletic wear and sneakers.

BASF SE: BASF is the world’s largest integrated chemical companies, with business operations spanning more than 80 countries in the world.

Bayer AG: Bayer is a life sciences company and the developer of the world famous Bayer Asprin. As one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world it also has business spanning consumer healthcare products; agricultural chemicals, seeds and biotechnology products.

BMW AG: Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, or more commonly BMW, is a luxury automobile and motorcycle manufacturer well-known by its slogan ‘The Ultimate Driving Machine’.

Deutsche Bank AG: Deutsche Bank is one of the world’s largest banks, with operations that span the globe. It has struggled with profitability over the past decade however as it has never truly recovered from the 2008 global financial crisis.

Infineon Technologies AG: Infineon Technologies is a semiconductor manufacturer founded in 1999 as a spin-off of Siemens AG.

Deutsche Telekom AG: Deutsche Telekom is one of the largest integrated telecommunications companies in the world and is best known in the U.S. by the brand T-Mobile.

Merck KGaA: Merck is one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical and health-care companies with operations in 66 countries around the world.

Siemens AG: Siemens AG is a multinational conglomerate and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe. The primary company divisions are Energy, Healthcare, Industry, and Infrastructure & Cities, which represent the main business activities of the company.

Volkswagen AG: Volkswagen, typically shortened to VW, is an automobile manufacturer famous for its iconic “Beetle” cars and VW busses.

DAX 30 Trading information

• The DAX trading hours are Monday to Friday 00:10 – 19:59 (GMT)
• The DAX moves in increments of 0.50
• The margin requirement is 2%
• Maximal available leverage is
• The minimum trade size is 0.1 unit
• The DAX is priced in Euro

Advantages of Trading the DAX 30 Index

There are a number of advantages to trading the DAX 30. These include the long trading hours of the Frankfurt stock exchange, which is open for nearly 9 hours each day, the high level of liquidity offered by this global index, and the tight trading spreads traders enjoy. Traders have been known to comment on the ease with which trading trends can be spotted on the DAX, which helps to explain the popularity of DAX trading. Traders will notice the price charts of the DAX often show clear technical patterns, offering a good opportunity to capture emerging trends.

Trade the DAX 30 with AvaTrade

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DAX 30 Trading Main FAQs

• Should I trade the DAX 30?
  If you have any interest at all in the German economy, or in the multi-national corporations that make up the DAX 30, then the answer is yes. With the German economy the largest in the European Union, and often called the engine of growth for Europe, trading the DAX 30 is like making a bet on the strength or weakness of not only Germany, but of the broader European Union. The DAX provides traders with the perfect opportunity to speculate on the broader economy rather than focusing on a single company or sector.
• What’s the best strategy to trade the DAX 30?
  First of all, traders should look to trade the DAX 30 when its liquidity are highest. This tends to be at the start and end of the day, so planning trades to enter and exit the market during the first and final hours of the trading day is a good start. Any of the standard technical trading strategies can be used when trading the DAX 30, including moving averages, Bollinger Bands, RSI, MACD, and more. Support and resistance levels are also important when analyzing potential entry and exit points.

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