Overview
- The index finished at 24,490.41 points for a yearly gain of about 23%, its best since 2019, with most of 34 record highs set in the first half.
- Earnings hopes faded over the year, with projected DAX profit growth cut to roughly 7% as the P/E multiple expanded from about 11 to near 15.
- Defence and bank stocks led the table—Rheinmetall rose around 150% and Deutsche Bank and Commerzbank roughly doubled—while Symrise fell about 33%.
- Trading was thin in shortened year-end sessions on the Frankfurt exchange, and investors looked to the Fed’s latest minutes after a December rate cut that flagged limited further easing.
- Gold was the year’s standout asset, hitting records near $4,500 per ounce on haven demand before a late pullback.