DAX Futures

DAX futures (Eurex ticker FDAX) track Germany's DAX 40 blue-chip index. The contract multiplier is €25 × index, making one FDAX worth approximately €450,000 notional at current levels — one of the largest equity-index contracts in the world. Liquidity is excellent during European hours and FDAX is the natural hedge for any euro-area equity exposure.

Unlike the FTSE 100, the DAX 40 is a much purer play on the German and broader eurozone economy. Constituents like Siemens, SAP, Volkswagen, Deutsche Bank, Allianz and BASF derive a meaningful share of revenue from European industry and finance. FDAX is therefore highly sensitive to ECB policy, German Bund yields, eurozone PMI prints and US-EU trade tensions.

The DAX index launched on 1 July 1988 as a successor to several older German benchmarks. DAX futures (FDAX) launched on Deutsche Terminbörse (DTB, the predecessor of Eurex) on 23 November 1990. In September 2021, the index was expanded from 30 to 40 constituents, broadening sector representation.

Eurex FDAX trades nearly continuously (IST):

DAX is highly correlated to S&P 500 on a daily-return basis (~0.7 over recent quarters) but with a noticeable beta of 1.1–1.3, i.e. DAX moves harder on the same news. Watch FDAX during the European open (12:30–13:30 IST) for a clue on how Asia's session will hand off to Europe.