Certificates: Focus on gold/silver and US tech

The trend toward individual stocks—especially Nvidia, Alphabet, Apple, and others—continues. DAX certificates account for a smaller share than before. Precious metals are also very much in focus.

18 December 2025. FRANKFURT (Deutsche Börse). The surge in precious metal prices and concerns about the AI bubble are dominating certificate trading. “The focus is clearly on all types of silver products,” explains Simon Görich of Baader Bank, reporting “decent sales at the end of the year.” Certificates on indices as well as technology and defense stocks are also being traded heavily. “We are seeing a great deal of interest in products based on US tech stocks as well as gold and silver,” reports Markus Königer of ICF Bank. In his opinion, defense stocks – with the exception of Rheinmetall – are no longer quite as much in focus. “And there is no activity at all in certificates on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.”

DAX and Nasdaq: Positioning in both directions

The most traded underlying assets at ICF in the past four weeks were DAX, Nasdaq, Rheinmetall, gold, silver, Nvidia, Alphabet, Dow Jones, Euro Stoxx, Apple, and Adidas. According to Königer, DAX certificates currently account for 23 percent of turnover, which is below the usual 30 percent. Most of these are open-end knock-out certificates, sometimes puts (<DE000BY0JRZ0>), sometimes calls (<DE000DU5UM36>). The picture is similar on the Nasdaq: open-end knock-out calls (<DE000PJ671U9>) are heavily traded, as are put warrants (DE000PJ5DTV0).

US tech stocks: Still a lot of confidence

In terms of individual stocks, ICF clients continue to show a lot of interest in Nvidia, but currently also in Alphabet. Although the Google parent company's stock has lost ground recently, it has still doubled since its low in April (US02079K3059). Apparently, a further rise in the share price is expected, with bullish products dominating, led by a call warrant (DE000HT8E691) with a strike price of USD 310. In the case of Apple, too, the focus is on calls (<DE000HS75JU3>).

The product with the highest turnover on Rheinmetall is a discount certificate, as Königer also reports, with a cap at €1,380 (<DE000HT4KA02>). “Other defense companies such as Renk and Hensoldt are no longer attracting much attention,” he notes.

Silver on a record chase

It is also noticeable that the price of silver is reaching new highs and the price of gold is approaching its record high reached in October. ICF clients like to invest in silver index certificates (DE000DZ0B773), but also call warrants (<DE000PK0P6Y1>) and open-end knock-out calls (DE000PJ9ND62). The situation is similar for gold, with index trackers in the top ten list, but also open-end knock-out calls.

Calm despite Bitcoin crash

Despite violent movements on the crypto market, not much is happening with certificates on Bitcoin & Co, as Königer reports. Bitcoin currently costs just under $87,000 – more than 30 percent less than its all-time high in October.