Today, the Vienna Stock Exchange reviewed its Austrian stock indices applying the respective rules and regulations. The following changes will take effect on Monday, 23 March 2020. Mayr-Melnhof Karton AG, the world's largest producer of coated recycled fiber-based cartonboard, will replace the aircraft component manufacturer FACC AG in the Austrian leading index ATX. Mayr-Melnhof AG exceeds FACC AG with regard to the size of the free float capitalization. The shares of the cartonboard manufacturer were last represented in the leading Austrian index almost continuously between 1994 and 2014. In the ATX five, which comprises the five largest listed companies, BAWAG Group AG replaces voestalpine AG. The five largest companies on the Vienna Stock Exchange are: Erste Group Bank AG, OMV AG, Verbund AG, Raiffeisen Bank International AG and BAWAG Group AG.
After a share buyback with subsequent withdrawal of shares, the free float factor of BAWAG Group AG increases from 0.7 to 0.8. The free float factor of Marinomed Biotech AG increases from 0.5 to 0.6 after a major shareholder sold shares. The free float factor of S Immo AG falls from 0.7 to 0.6. The investors Pecik and Ketterer increased their holdings during a capital increase of S Immo AG in January. The free float factor expresses how many shares of a company are publicly held and influences how strongly a share is weighted in the index.
The calculation of the ATX is based on a purely quantitative procedure. According to “The Rules for the Austrian Indices of the Vienna Stock Exchange”, the inclusion or exclusion of stocks from the Austrian indices is reviewed twice a year (March and September). Decisions on new additions to the index are based on average daily trading volumes and the free float capitalization of companies. The Vienna Stock Exchange reviews the calculation parameters (number of shares, free float factors, representation factors) of the index on a quarterly basis. Once a month, the ATX watchlist is published. Representatives of institutional investors, financial institutions that issue financial products on the indices, trading members of the Vienna Stock Exchange, academics advisors and the Vienna Stock Exchange contribute their know-how to the Index Committee, which approves the index rules. A list of the Committee members is available online.