Despite being a
DS9 character (personally I find Ezri better than Jadzia) the DAX (Deutscher Aktien Index) is also a German
stock index. The DAX, sometimes also referred to as DAX30, contains Germany's 30 biggest companies. The DAX can be compared to the US-American
Dow Jones, as it, too, only contains the biggest and most stable companies and so is a good
indicator for the
economy of Germany. Just like the
United States Germany has a "
New Economy" index. In Germany it is called
Neuer Markt (new market) and it is much easier for companies to enter one of the Neuer Markt indices than the DAX30.
The DAX was founded 1988 but the index itself existed before as it was released by a German newspaper (Börsenzeitung). The DAX is controlled by the Deutsche Börse, a private company, which controls the Frankfurter stock market (the third biggest stock market after the NYSE and the NASDAQ), the EUREX and the electronic stock exchange system XETRA. During the internet boom, the value of the DAX exploded, and had a high point way above 7000 Points (1988 it started at 1000 Points), but at the moment it moves between 4000 and 5000 Points.
Although the DAX should reflect the strength of the German economy it doesn't really as it mainly mirrors movements of the Dow. Economical data of the companies only plays a secondary role as the market in New York decides about the major movements.
Here's a list of all the 30 companies in the DAX:
ADIDAS-SALOMON AG
ALLIANZ AG
BASF AG
BAYER AG
BAYERISCHE HYPO- UND VEREINSBANK
BAYERISCHE MOTOREN WERKE AG(BMW)
COMMERZBANK AG
DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG
DEGUSSA AG
DEUTSCHE BANK AG
DEUTSCHE LUFTHANSA AG
DEUTSCHE POST AG
DEUTSCHE TELEKOM AG
E.ON AG
EPCOS AG
FRESENIUS MEDICAL CARE AG
HENKEL KGAA
INFINEON TECHNOLOGIES AG
LINDE AG
MAN AG
MARSCHOLLEK, LAUTENSCHL.
METRO AG
MUENCHENER RUECKVERSICHERUNGS-GESELLSCHAFT
PREUSSAG AG
RWE AG
SAP AG
SCHERING AG
SIEMENS AG
THYSSENKRUPP AG
VOLKSWAGEN AG