FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - For the next regular index review in March, there is unlikely to be another shake-up following the promotion of Commerzbank as a replacement for industrial gas producer Linde. Rheinmetall would have a good chance of a place in the top stock market league, but since there is currently no candidate for relegation, the armaments group and automotive supplier will have to be patient.

Index experts only expect the Deutsche Börse to announce changes below the German leading index on Friday evening, March 3. This would then only affect the index of medium-sized companies, the MDax, and the index of smaller companies, the SDax. Any changes will come into effect on Monday, March 20.

In the MDax, index expert Tom Koula of investment bank Stifel Europe expects technology company Jenoptik and photovoltaic systems technology specialist SMA Solar to rise in a few weeks. On the other hand, according to him, biofuel producer Verbio and Software AG are likely to be relegated to the SDax.

Apart from that, he also does not rule out another change. In view of the sharp drop in the share price of U.S. network equipment manufacturer Adtran, the latter could possibly also have to vacate its place in the index of medium-sized companies, which would free up space for special packaging manufacturer Krones, which can currently still be found in the SDax.

In addition to these place changes, another promotion is also expected in the SDax. Insurer Wüstenrot & Württembergische (W&W) is expected to return to the second-tier index. According to Koula, the Südzucker subsidiary and bioethanol producer Cropenergies would have to make way for it.

Index changes are particularly important for funds that replicate indices in real terms (physically replicating ETFs). These must then be rebalanced and rebalanced accordingly, which can have an impact on share prices./ck/la/he