Dax has its best stock market year since 2019

In December, the DAX achieved an increase of 2.7 percent and recorded its best year since 2019 with an increase of 23 percent in 2025. This means that the most important German price barometer performed significantly better than the Eurozone leading index EuroStoxx and also the US leading index Dow Jones Industrial.

In shortened trading on Tuesday, the books for this year were closed at 2 p.m. Many investors stayed away from the stock exchange between the years anyway, which resulted in very low trading volumes and thus greater price fluctuations for some individual stocks.

The strong DAX balance sheet stands in stark contrast to the economic slump in Germany. Investors often focus not on the current situation, but on future profits. In addition, the 40 companies listed in the DAX are internationally positioned and generate the majority of their sales abroad.

34 Record highs

Market expert Thomas Altmann from QC Partners spoke of an excellent year for the stock market, but pointed out that this only applies to the first half of the year, as the second semester was “more of a sideways trend”. Of its 34 record highs, the Dax reached 31 in the first half of the year and only three in the second.

The MDax rose by 0.54 percent to 30,617.67 points on Tuesday. This resulted in a December gain of 2.3 percent for the index of medium-sized stocks. An increase of almost 20 percent is expected for 2025.

The minutes of the last interest rate meeting of the US Federal Reserve are still on the agenda on Tuesday evening. “The minutes will allow an exciting look behind the scenes. Opinions within the Fed vary widely – any additional information is therefore worth its weight in gold because it helps investors to better balance interest rates for the coming year,” explained market analyst Jochen Stanzl from Consorsbank.

Ukraine keeps investors on tenterhooks

The most important geopolitical issue remains the situation in Ukraine. According to the Kremlin, Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to revise his position in negotiations with US President Donald Trump because of an alleged terrorist attack in Kiev. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the allegations as lies. The armaments stocks Rheinmetall, Hensoldt and Renk rose by up to 2.3 percent.

Otherwise the news situation was once again very manageable. As the DAX leader, Infineon shares rose in price by 2.7 percent. According to one trader, an interview by CEO Jochen Hanebeck in the “Handelsblatt” helped the mood. Accordingly, the manager expects “a boom in AI chips for years to come” and strong growth in semiconductors to power AI data centers.

For Verbio shareholders, 2025 ended with a high profit thanks to a year-end rally. On Tuesday, the shares rose by another 6.5 percent and extended their annual gain to a good 79 percent. In September they were still in the red for the year.

Alzchem climbed 5.6 percent and expanded its annual profit to 172 percent. The specialty chemicals company’s stocks were in high demand in 2025 because of the fantasy in the defense sector. The company produces a raw material for explosives.