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STOXX Limited, the leading provider of European equity indexes, today announced the adoption of the new Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB) which results in the launch of 22 Dow Jones STOXX sector indexes. Two of them, the Dow Jones STOXX 600 Real Estate and the Dow Jones EURO STOXX Real Estate indexes, have been licensed to Eurex, one of the world's largest derivatives exchanges and the leading clearing house in Europe, to serve as the basis for equity index futures and options. The new derivatives will be available today.
The ICB system classifies companies according to their primary source of revenue. It now consists of 10 industries, 19 supersectors (formerly 18), 41 sectors (earlier 39) and 114 subsectors (previously 104). Within the STOXX universe, changes have been made within the current financials, oil & gas, and utilities industry. Real estate has been elevated to a supersector level, separating between real estate investment & services and real estate investment trusts (REITs) on a sector level.
Three sectors have been added to the STOXX universe on the Supersector and Sector level, leading to the addition of 22 new indexes in the Dow Jones STOXX Global 1800, DOW Jones STOXX 600, Dow Jones EURO STOXX, Dow Jones STOXX ex UK, Dow Jones STOXX Total Market and Dow Jones STOXX NORDIC Total Market Sector Index families.
“The Dow Jones STOXX Sector Indexes offer an alternative view of the performance of the European stock market”, said Werner Bürki, chairman, STOXX supervisory board. “The enhanced classification system, combined with a transparent and rules based methodology make our sector indexes an ideal instrument for research and analysis. Our advanced benchmarks are broadly used as underlying for investment products.”
"The new Dow Jones STOXX Real Estate indexes enable us to offer our clients targeted investment opportunities into the real estate sector for the first time. The futures and options on the Dow Jones STOXX Real Estate indexes allow hedging and investment strategies in companies that are active in the European real estate sector”, said Peter Reitz, member of the Eurex Executive Board.
Launched on June 15, 1998, the Dow Jones STOXX 600 Supersector Indexes aim to represent the largest European companies in each of the now 19 ICB supersectors and currently cover Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
The Dow Jones EURO STOXX Supersector Indexes were launched on June 15, 1998 and aim to represent the largest supersector companies in the Euro zone. They currently cover Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.
The 19 supersectors are: Automobiles & Parts, Banks, Basic Resources, Chemicals, Construction & Materials, Financial Services, Food & Beverage, Health Care, Industrial Goods & Services, Insurance, Media, Oil & Gas, Personal & Household Goods, Real Estate, Retail, Technology, Telecommunications, Travel & Leisure and Utilities.
For more information on the Dow Jones STOXX indexes please visit www.stoxx.com.
