EURO STOXX 50 Index

What Is the EURO STOXX 50 Index?

The EURO STOXX 50 Index is a market capitalization-weighted stock index of 50 large, blue-chip European companies operating within eurozone nations. Components are selected from the EURO STOXX Index, which includes large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks in the eurozone.

Understanding the EURO STOXX 50 Index

The EURO STOXX 50 Index is managed and licensed by STOXX Limited which provides indexes representing equity market investments all over the world. The EURO STOXX 50 Index includes the eurozone's 50 largest companies by market cap.

STOXX Limited is owned by Deutsche Börse AG. It has been managing and licensing indexes since 1998. The EURO STOXX 50 Index was among the first STOXX indexes launched in 1998. The company has broadened its offerings substantially since its launch which focused on European stock indexes. It now offers indexes representing nearly every country and region of the world. Asset classes include equity, fixed income, and currency. It also offers indexes by sector, factor, strategy, and theme.

ASML Holding NV, LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton, and Linde plc are the biggest holdings in the EURO STOXX 50 as of Oct. 30, 2020, representing nearly 16% of the index.

EURO STOXX 50 Composition and Methodology

The EURO STOXX 50 Index includes the largest 50 stocks in the eurozone automatically chosen from the EURO STOXX Index by market capitalization. For inclusion in the EURO STOXX Index, companies must be a eurozone member country. The EURO STOXX Index includes companies of all market capitalization levels from Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and Spain.

The EURO STOXX 50 Index typically represents approximately 60% of the EURO STOXX Index. The EURO STOXX 50 Index is reviewed annually in September for any index component changes.

As of October 30, 2020, the top ten components in the EURO STOXX 50 Index included the following:

There are EURO STOXX 50 sub-indexes for the following individual countries: France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain. Each sub-index includes EURO STOXX 50 stocks from that particular country.

EURO STOXX 50 Index Funds

The EURO STOXX 50 Index is a leading market index for investors seeking to follow the eurozone's largest equity stock investments. Nearly all of the passive index funds in the investment market that track the EURO STOXX 50 Index are exchange-traded funds (ETFs). One of the largest and most popular for investors is the SPDR EURO STOXX 50 ETF (FEZ). The SPDR EURO STOXX 50 ETF has $1.87 billion in assets under management, as of Nov. 24, 2020. The ETF has been available to investors since October 2002.

FEZ trades at $40.46 with an expense ratio of 0.29%. As of Oct. 31, 2020, FEZ had one-year, three-year, and five-year market value returns of -12.47%, -4.45%, and 1.10%, respectively.

Other funds available for investors seeking to track the EURO STOXX 50 Index include the iShares EURO STOXX 50 UCITS ETF and the Xtrackers EURO STOXX 50 UCITS ETF.