AEX index

The AEX index, derived from Amsterdam Exchange index, is a stock market index composed of Dutch companies that trade on Euronext Amsterdam, formerly known as the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. Started in 1983, the index is composed of a maximum of 25 of the most actively traded securities on the exchange.

Rules

Selection

The AEX index composition is reviewed annually on March 1 based on the closing prices on the final trading day of January. These changes are effected on the following trading day. At this review date, the 25 companies with the highest share turnover (in Euros) over the previous year deemed to be "representative of the Dutch equity market" are admitted to the index. Companies which have fewer than 25% of shares considered free float on Euronext Amsterdam and a free-float market capitalisation ranked lower than 25th are, however, ineligible for inclusion. Unlike some other European benchmark equity indices (such as the OMXS30), if a company has more than one class of shares traded on the exchange, only the most actively traded of these will be accepted into the AEX. If a company or companies are removed from the index due to delisting, acquisition or another reason, no replacements are made until the next annual review.

Weighting

The AEX is a market value-weighted index. At each annual review, the index weightings of companies in the index are capped at 15%, but range freely with share price subsequently. The index weights are calculated with respect to the closing prices of the relevant companies on March 1.

Calculation

The value of the index is calculated by multiplying the value of each of the stocks by the weight factor assigned to that stock, then summing the resulting numbers and dividing by 100.
History

The AEX started from a base level of 100 index points on 3 January 1983 (although a value of 45.378 is used for comparison with current levels as the index value was divided by 2.20371 at the start of 1999 as the Netherlands moved from the guilder to the Euro). The index's peak to date is 703.18, reached on 5 September 2000 at the height of the dot-com bubble. The index value more than halved over the following three years before recovering in line with most global financial markets.

Composition

The 24 stocks below constitute the index as of the removal of Hagemeyer due to pending acquisition on 7 March 2008.[5]

Company ICB Sector Ticker symbol Index weighting (%)1
AEGON life insurance AGN 3.74
Ahold food retailers and wholesalers AH 2.84
Akzo Nobel specialty chemicals AKZA 3.87
ArcelorMittal steel MT 14.38
ASML semiconductors ASML 1.61
Corio real estate holding and development CORA 0.73
Corporate Express industrial suppliers CXP 0.33
DSM specialty chemicals DSM 0.97
Fortis banks FORA 8.27
Heineken brewers HEIA 2.39
ING Group life insurance INGA 12.35
KPN fixed line telecommunications KPN 5.56
Philips consumer electronics PHIA 7.27
Randstad Holding business training and employment agencies RAND 0.37
Reed Elsevier publishing REN 2.10
Royal Dutch Shell integrated oil and gas RDSA 14.95
SBM Offshore oil equipment and services SBMO 0.74
Tele Atlas publishing TA 0.41
TNT delivery services TNT 2.27
TomTom telecommunications equipment TOM2 0.42
Unibail-Rodamco real estate investment trusts ULA 3.37
Unilever food products UNA 9.15
Vedior business training and employment agencies VDOR 0.55
Wolters Kluwer publishing WKL 1.39