STOXX Ltd. has launched a new blue-chip regional index for a region that, in the past, has been in the news less for its investment opportunities than for its conflicts. On Monday, the index provider rolled out the Dow Jones STOXX Balkan 50 Equal-Weighted Index, which includes select stocks from eight countries: Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and Turkey. It is the first blue-chip index from a major index provider to cover the Balkans region.

Components are equal-weighted at 2% of the index at its annual rebalancing, and the 50 stocks are selected based on their free-float market capitalization and liquidity. Greece and Turkey have the largest representation in the index in terms of components - the top 10 stocks are included from both countries. The top five stocks are selected for inclusion from each of the remaining countries in the eligible universe.

As of October 29, Greece and Turkey each represented approximately one-fifth of the index at 20.8% and 20.6%, respectively. Bulgaria was 11.2%; Romania, 10.1%; Croatia, 10.0%; Slovenia, 9.3%; Serbia, 9.1%; and FYROM, 9.0%. Generally, all of the countries covered by the index are considered emerging or frontier markets by the major index providers, except for Greece.

The index is weighted heavily toward financial companies, with Banks the heaviest sector at nearly 35% of the index, followed by Financial Services at 12.1%. The Telecommunications sector represents 11.7% of the index, while Oil & Gas is 11.5%.

The Dow Jones STOXX Balkan 50 Equal-Weighted Index was up an impressive 38.7% year-to-date through the end of October.