The decline in the German markets may also be contributed to concerns over the ongoing Greek debt concerns and potentially forced exit from the Eurozone, which would weigh on Germany as it is Greece’s largest lender.
As the euro currency appreciated over the past few weeks, German automakers led the declines. Germany is an export-oriented economy, so a strengthening euro currency translates to more expensive goods for foreign buyers.
Consumer discretionary, which includes automakers like Daimler and Volkswagen, is the largest sector weight in Germany country-specific ETFs, accounting for 21.7% of EWG, 21.8% of DBGR and 22.4% of DXGE.
iShares Currency Hedged MSCI Germany ETF
For more information on the German markets, visit our Germany category.
Max Chen contributed to this article.