At the Frankfurt Stock Exchange you can now trade without spread in the shares of DAX, MDAX, TecDAX and SDAX.

If you are planning to buy a security, you also want to know its current price. Thus, the up-to-date estimate might be of more importance to than the last price. There are two types of estimates: the bid and the ask estimate. 

Estimates are published by the lead brokers in Frankfurt floor trading; they are determined on the basis of the current market situation and under consideration of the respective reference market. The bid side represents the demand of the market. This estimate is also called bid quote, or simply bid. The ask side represents the supply on the market and is also called ask quote or ask.

Sell low and buy high?

Usually, investors sell at the lower bid price and buy at the higher ask price. The difference between the two is called spread. The more actively a title is traded, the narrower is the spread. The narrower the spread, the more favorable is the price for both the buyer and the seller.

Up until now, the maximum spread for private investors in DAX® titles was 0.3 percent; for MDAX® and TecDAX® titles it was 1 percent. For a DAX share with an exchange price of €50 this corresponds to 15 cent per share; for an MDAX or TecDAX share of the same value, this corresponds to 50 cents max. 

However, this has changed: the lead brokers execute private investors’ buy and sell orders at the median between the current bid and ask quote. They guarantee zero spread in DAX titles for order volumes up to €10,000, in MDAX titles for orders up to €5,000 as well as in TecDAX and SDAX shares for orders up to €3,000. Buy and sell at the same price on the Frankfurt trading floor. There’s no better way – from 9.00 a.m. to 8.00 p.m. on each trading day.

Median = favorable price

The median between the bid and the ask quote is an indicative price. It is published in real-time on this website. It represents the price at which the lead broker could execute a buy or sell order on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange at the given point in time.

An example:

The current estimate for the DaimlerChrysler share is €30.30 to €30.36. Thus, the indicative price is at €30.33. It is shown as a range: €30.33 to €30.33. This means that private investors can buy up to 330 shares at the indicative price without spread loss. 

The maximum volumes of €10,000, €5,000 and 3,000, respectively, cover up to 70 percent of all orders in trading in these titles. This also includes institutional orders. 

There is one little restriction: for titles with values of less than €5, the indicative prices, at which the lead brokers try to execute an order, are shown. However, these shares are not included in the voluntary commitment.

Of course, indicative prices may only provide an indication – as suggested by the term itself. Just like before, the estimate and its publication serve as a point of reference for market participants to inform themselves about the approximate exchange price that could be determined on the basis of existing bid and ask quotes. It is non-binding and does not present an offer to buy or sell. From 9.00 a.m. until 5.30 p.m., Xetra serves as reference market; in evening trading it is usually the trading floor itself. If there are no valid orders available in the order book, the estimate can be assumed.