Schlusskurs

Schlusskurs is the official closing price of a security at the end of a trading session. In German financial usage, it serves as the reference price for performance measurement, index calculations, and settlement values. The Schlusskurs may be determined by the closing auction on the exchange (for example the Xetra closing auction in Germany) or, on some instruments, by the last trade price at a fixed market close. Because of this, the Schlusskurs may differ from intraday highs or the last traded price of after-hours sessions.

Data sources: Official closing prices are published by stock exchanges and data providers. In Germany and many European markets, the term "Schlusskurs" is commonly used for the daily closing price of equities listed on Xetra or Börse Frankfurt and for index levels. The closing price is used to compute daily returns: Return = (Schlusskurs_t - Schlusskurs_{t-1}) / Schlusskurs_{t-1}. For indices, the Schlusskurs corresponds to the index level at the close of the session.

Usage and caveats: Schlusskurse provide a standardized reference point for performance reporting, charting, and fund accounting. Investors should note that closing prices may differ from intraday values and from after-hours prices, especially for markets with extended trading hours or different closing mechanisms. In practice, the term is generally understood as the official close of the instrument on its primary venue.