The Danish C25 index, comprising the country’s most valuable and traded companies, has experienced a significant decline of 17.5 percent in value since the beginning of the year when calculated in dollars, making it one of the worst-performing stock indices globally, trailing only Lebanon, Serbia and Argentina.

Novo Nordisk, the most valuable company in the C25 with a market value exceeding one trillion kroner, has seen its value plunge by 43 percent this year, heavily impacting the index’s overall performance.

Tine Choi Danielsen, chief strategist at PFA, explains that Novo Nordisk’s substantial weight within the relatively small C25 index means its movements heavily influence the index’s performance and foreign investors’ perception of Danish stocks; sharp declines can trigger sell-offs of other Danish stocks despite the presence of other large, globally exposed companies, a trend previously observed in reverse when Novo’s share price rose.

While PFA, a Danish pension company, has a significant focus on Danish stocks, the Danish portfolio makes up only a relatively small portion of their total stock investments; PFA has continuously analyzed and adjusted investments in individual Danish companies, with positive performance in other stock markets contributing to a reasonable overall return.

Despite the C25’s struggles, a typical PFA customer has received a 4.5 percent return on their pension savings this year, supported by positive developments in European stocks (up 11.5 percent) and Japanese stocks (up 6.2 percent), while American stocks, after an April dip, have largely recovered and are down just 2.1 percent this year.