News & Research

Changes were announced as part of the June regular review of the DAX 50 ESG, DAX 50 ESG+, DAX 30 ESG, DAX ESG Target, DAX ESG Screened, MDAX ESG+, MDAX ESG Screened and DAX indices.

The STOXX World AC index added 5.8% last month in US dollars, erasing its 2025 losses. The Eurozone’s EURO STOXX 50 climbed 5.4%. Germany’s DAX advanced 6.7%, taking its gain this year to 21%.

The new benchmarks offer investors the chance to combine different size segments of the German equity market in one index strategy.

The STOXX World AC index added 1.1% last month in US dollars but lost 4% in euros after the greenback retreated 4.8% against the common currency. While the Eurozone’s EURO STOXX 50 dropped, German benchmarks bucked the trend.

The EUR 18.9 billion attracted by the ETFs in one month compares with EUR 5.7 billion in net inflows for all of 2024. STOXX-linked ETFs attracted the most money in March, led by STOXX Europe 600 and Germany’s MDAX funds.

The STOXX World AC index dropped 3.8% last month, led by US stocks, as investors fretted about the outlook for US economic growth, inflation and international trade. The STOXX USA 500 posted its worst quarter relative to the STOXX Europe 600 in a decade.

(Updates February 27 article with inflows through March 6).  With the DAX index climbing to an all-time high and posting its best start to a year in a decade, interest in German equities is also backed up by fund flows. Net purchases of German assets ETFs listed in EMEA[1] have climbed to EUR 3.1 billion this […]

Changes were announced as part of the March regular review, which also saw the introduction of methodology changes to have the indices aligned with the new ESMA fund naming guidelines.

For US dollar-based investors, euro weakness has curbed returns from the record rally in European stocks. A strategy that systematically hedges against declines in the common currency, on the other hand, has significantly enhanced those returns. Two ETFs from Amundi allow investors access to said strategies.

The STOXX Europe 600 extended January’s strong performance to post its best start to a year since 2019. The STOXX USA 500, meanwhile, retreated over the month, dragged by large technology stocks.

Net flows into funds tracking a DAX family index outpace the broader market, amounting to EUR 1.38 billion through February 24. Of those, EUR 1 billion flowed into ETFs tracking the benchmark DAX, while MDAX and SDAX funds also reported net investments.

VDAX, the benchmark for German equity implied volatility, remains below its long-term history and lower than other regions’ volatilities.