News & Research

The EURO STOXX 50® continues to underpin an expanding range of trading and income strategies, with exchange-traded products offering leveraged, inverse and options-based exposure to the flagship Eurozone benchmark.

Celebrated each May 9, Europe Day is a fitting moment to take stock of the STOXX Europe 600 — which is attracting strong inflows into linked investment products while new ETFs are being introduced. With the latter, the set of trading and strategy possibilities around European equities continues to grow.

STOXX was present at the annual SimCorp Global Summit, where one panel explored the latest evolution of indices, and another one presented the concept of ‘4D’ index investing — which considers a systematic portfolio’s risk, return, sustainability and trading costs.

The STOXX Focus indices build portfolios based on constituents’ geographic revenue sources rather than their country of domicile, providing a more accurate representation of regional risk at a time of rising geopolitical tensions and global trade frictions. BlackRock’s iShares has launched the first in a planned series of ETFs tracking the indices.

ETFs tracking a STOXX or DAX European equity index received a net EUR 9.7 billion over the first quarter, or 36% of inflows in the segment. ETFs mirroring an equity index worldwide registered EUR 66.2 billion in net inflows last month even as markets tumbled, taking YTD inflows to EUR 318.2 billion.

Changes are part of the March 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.

Assets under management in STOXX-linked ETFs grew 51% in 2025 to EUR 189 billion, following EUR 35.1 billion in net investments. The growth was largely driven by renewed interest in European equities, a segment where STOXX and DAX ETFs captured 44.6% of net new flows.

Introduced in 1996, the MDAX tracks Germany’s listed mid-cap companies, widely regarded as the backbone of the national economy. The index has become a popular barometer for investors, both in terms of the breadth of investable products linked to it and the returns it has delivered over the past three decades.

In its third year of existence, the iShares EURO STOXX 50 ESG ETF offers exposure to a core Eurozone benchmark minus controversial business activities. Sophie Thurner, ETF Product Strategist at BlackRock, explains how the ESG ETF fits in investors’ portfolios and how its underlying index has adapted to evolving regulation.

The EURO STOXX® Banks and STOXX® Europe 600 Banks indices climbed 80.3% and 67% respectively in 2025, the best performance among 20 ICB Supersectors and best year since 1987. In spite of strong gains in recent years, the banking sector remains significantly below the levels reached just before the global financial crisis.

The launches follow on from the roll-out three years ago of ETFs tracking yen-hedged versions of the two European flagship benchmarks, and come amid rising interest in European equities.

Changes are part of the December 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.