Austria Shares

Economy and politics

Of course, tourism also plays a paramount role. The service sector also makes a major contribution to the Austrian economy, which is one of the most highly developed in the world.

The Republic of Austria has nine federal states, each with its own state government, and is elected on a democratic parliamentary basis. The capital of the republic is Vienna and the national holiday is celebrated on October 26.

Agriculture: In view of the excellent landscape and climatic conditions, the agricultural industry, which is largely characterized by the cultivation of sugar beets, potatoes, wine and cereals, generates high yields. Particularly high volumes of raw materials can be found in the lignite, iron ore, natural gas, copper and lead segments.

The nationalization of the basic industries in 1946 and the electricity industry in 1947 was intended to create a solid basis for an economic upswing, because private investors were almost non-existent after World War II. Agriculture yields only about 1.3 percent, but it is highly developed.

Exports and wages: Austria's most important export goods are machinery and vehicles as well as manufactured goods. Agricultural products and, above all, organic food from Austria are also in high demand abroad.

Despite the negative effects of the fourth lockdown, the Austrian economy recorded significant GDP growth in 2021.

The largest companies

The largest companies in Austria are rather unknown in Germany. For example, Erste Group Bank (AT0000652011) from the financial sector with a market capitalization of approx. 10,745 million. This is followed by OMV (AT0000743059), an oil/gas company with 7,226 million and Verbund (AT0000746409), a utility in Austria with 5,700 million market capitalization. Other companies include Raiffeisenbank International (AT0000606306), Telekom Austria (AT0000720008) and Vienna Airport (AT00000VIE62).

The largest and most important trading centers

Die Vienna Stock Exchange was founded in 1771 as one of the first securities exchanges in the world and today operates the Vienna and Prague stock exchanges.

Vienna is the seat of the Austrian stock exchange. Its core business is trading on the cash market and via Xetra. In addition, the Vienna Stock Exchange offers access to the "direct market plus". Small and medium-sized companies are included here and can be traded via the Vienna Stock Exchange. It also serves as a trading venue for other shares, bonds, certificates, ETFs as well as warrants. In addition to its market function, Wiener Börse also calculates and publishes indices.

Price development of the indices

The Austrian Traded Index (ATX) is the most important stock index in Austria. The ATX shows the share price performance of the 20 largest Austrian companies listed on the stock exchange.

With the help of the ATX, statements can be made about Austria's economic development. Twice a year (March and September), the composition of the ATX and the weighting of the shares are checked and adjusted.

Unlike the DAX, no dividends or other capital distributions flow into the ATX.