Deutsche Börse is reversing its strategy of the last six years and closing down the Neuer Markt, its growth segment, and SMAX, its smaller companies market, by the end of next year.

The Neuer Markt was set up five years ago to attract technology stocks but investors and issuers have lost confidence in the market since the TMT crash. The Nemax 50, the benchmark index for the Neuer Markt currently stands at 405, a 95.8% drop from its lifetime high of 9,665.8 in March 2000.