Market cap of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange 2002-2023
The total market capitalization of German companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock exchange reached 2.21 trillion euros at the end of 2021. This is above the values found at the end of 2019 and 2017, indicating that Germany's stock market has largely recovered from the financial crash precipitated by the global coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in 2020. At the end of 2023, the total market capitalization of German companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock exchange closed at 1.97 trillion euros, a significant decrease compared to the previous year.
What is the Frankfurt Stock Exchange?
While there are seven stock exchanges in Germany, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is by far the most important, accounting for around 90 percent of transactions. Run by Deutsche Börse AG, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is comprised of two exchange trading venues: the traditional trading floor of the Börse Frankfurt, and the electronic trading platform Xetra (which in turn is divided into domestic and international markets). Xetra counts for the vast majority of the trading volume of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. As an electronic platform, the technology behind Xetra is used by other stock exchanges around the world, strengthening the Frankfurt Stock Exchange’s competitive position while facilitating its capacity to handle international trading. As a result, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange is one of the largest stock exchanges in the world, sitting just outside the global top 10.
The DAX Index
The most important indicator of the German share market is the DAX index, which is comprised of the 30 largest German companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Some of the more famous companies included in the index are: car manufactures like Volkswagen, BMW and Daimler; clothing and shoe manufacturer Adidas; industrial companies BASF and Siemens; and pharmaceutical company Bayer. Following the DAX is the MDAX index, which covers the 60 next-largest German companies by market cap, then the SDAX index, comprised of the 70 next-largest companies after the MDAX.
