ETFs: Valuation concerns gone

The topic of the AI bubble has faded into the background, US stocks are in demand—including tech stocks. Emerging market stocks are also popular. The sell-off of defense ETFs is also over.

9 December 2025. FRANKFURT (Deutsche Börse).  The buying mood on the ETF market continues. Frank Mohr of Société Générale reports a clear buying surplus, with a focus on US and global equities. “However, we are also seeing considerable interest in emerging market stocks,” he adds. Holger Heinrich of Baader Bank also reports more purchases than sales. Janis Völker from Lang & Schwarz cannot identify a real trend: “The big issues such as defense and the AI bubble are still virulent, but things have quietened down around them.”

The DAX has recently recovered and stands at 24,153 points at midday on Tuesday. The US markets are approaching their all-time highs again and are currently trading just below them.

But no AI bubble?

Mohr has recorded predominantly inflows for world trackers such as the iShares Core MSCI World (IE00B4L5Y983), also as a value or momentum strategy (IE00BL25JM42, IE00BL25JP72). Heinrich even notes a shift in favor of thematic and factor strategies. The iShares Edge MSCI World Value Factor (IE00BP3QZB59) is on the shopping list, for example.

In the US equity sector, Mohr is seeing inflows into the major S&P 500 trackers again after the restraint of previous weeks. However, small and mid-cap products are also being targeted, such as the SPDR S&P 400 US Mid Cap (IE00B4YBJ215) and the SPDR MSCI USA Small Cap Value Weighted (IE00BSPLC413). Baader Bank's clients are focusing on US large caps and broadly diversified US growth and quality strategies. The iShares Nasdaq Top 30 (IE000Z7P04F4) and the Xtrackers MSCI USA ESG (IE0000MMQ5M5).

MSCI Emerging Markets: up 27 percent

Heinrich cannot identify a clear trend in European equity trading: “The picture is mixed, with increases in turnover for both value strategies and dividend-oriented approaches,” he explains. DAX trackers (LU0274211480, DE0005933931) are not as popular, as Mohr notes, but short DAX ETFs are being bought.

Emerging market ETFs, such as those from Xtrackers, iShares, or HSBC, are also continuing to perform well. After a slight setback, the MSCI Emerging Market index has recently rebounded. Since the beginning of the year, the index has risen by 27 percent. This puts it ahead of the Nasdaq 100 (up 22 percent), the DAX (21 percent), and the S&P 500 (17 percent). 

Defense ETFs: First purchases

According to Mohr, the sector ETF business continues to be dominated by tech index funds. The iShares S&P 500 Information Technology Sector (IE00B3WJKG14) and the iShares Automation & Robotics (IE00BYZK4552) are popular. On the other hand, the iShares Digital Security (IE00BG0J4C88) is being sold off. Also in demand: the VanEck Space Innovators (IE000YU9K6K2).

Meanwhile, the wave of sales of defense ETFs has subsided, as Völker from Lang & Schwarz observes. “We have even seen purchases again recently,” he notes. The trigger is likely to be the new US National Security Strategy published on Friday, which strongly criticizes Europe.

Bond ETFs: No longer just money market trackers

Bond ETFs are also enjoying great popularity. “Demand is stable, not only for money market ETFs, but also for iBonds with fixed maturities and active bond ETFs,” reports Völker. At Société Générale, money market ETFs remain the top sellers. However, corporate bond ETFs, such as the iShares Core EUR Corp Bond (< IE00B3F81R35>), are also in demand. 

Lively commodity ETC trading, quiet for crypto ETNs

According to Völker, there is also a lot going on with commodity ETCs. “These are mostly energy and precious metal ETCs – with trading in both directions.” Things are rather quiet for crypto ETNs. “Flows are low, sometimes buying, sometimes selling,” explains the trader. The focus is clearly on Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple, and Solana. After falling to $81,000 in November and a small recovery, Bitcoin currently costs $90,400 – still down 28 percent from its all-time high in October.