ETFs: AI doubts and Nasdaq sales

Although the boom in gold and silver is over, precious metal ETCs remain popular. Nasdaq and US tech ETFs, on the other hand, are being removed from portfolios. In general, there is more skepticism toward US stocks. 

February 17, 2026. FRANKFURT (Deutsche Börse). The waning enthusiasm for AI is also evident in the ETF market. “Sales of US stocks from the previous week did not continue. However, Nasdaq ETFs will clearly decline,” reports Frank Mohr of Société Générale, noting very good overall sales and a clear buyer surplus. Holger Heinrich of Baader Bank speaks of another volatile week with a small buyer surplus. “Precious metal products remain the top sellers.” Ivo Orlemann of ICF Bank confirms this: “The great excitement surrounding silver and gold has subsided, but precious metal ETCs remain at the top of our sales list.”

Gold and silver prices have recently stabilized. At midday on Tuesday, a troy ounce of gold was trading at US$4,928 and silver at US$74.50. “Silver and gold ETCs are particularly in demand,” explains Heinrich (<JE00BQRFDY49 >). The WisdomTree Silver 3x Daily Leveraged (IE00B7XD2195), which tracks the price of silver with a leverage of three, also remains extremely popular. Xetra-Gold (DE000A0S9GB0) and iShares Physical Gold (IE00B4ND3602) are the preferred choices for gold. According to Orlemann, Invesco Physical Gold (IE00B579F325), WisdomTree Physical Silver (JE00B1VS3333), and WisdomTree Silver Price ETC with leverage are in demand. 

US equities: “Some levies”

Once again, global ETFs are the focus of business with equity trackers. Mohr sees significantly more purchases than sales here. Popular examples include the iShares Core MSCI World (IE00B4L5Y983) and the iShares MSCI ACWI (IE00B6R52259). According to Heinrich, in addition to broadly diversified products, factor and equal-weighted ETFs are also on the shopping list for global ETFs. Examples include the Amundi MSCI World Momentum Advanced (IE0001FQFU60) and the Invesco MSCI World Equal Weight (IE000OEF25S1). On the sell side, the iShares Edge MSCI World Multifactor (IE00BZ0PKT83) is particularly prominent.

According to Mohr, purchases are once again dominating US equities. “But we are also seeing some selling,” he adds. For example, iShares or Vanguard S&P 500 trackers are being snapped up, while those from Amundi are tending to be sold off. The picture is very clear for Nasdaq ETFs: they are being sold. The Nasdaq 225 is around 6 percent below its all-time high, while the market-wide Dow Jones is only 2 percent below. According to Heinrich, the picture for US stocks is also mixed, characterized by portfolio rebalancing. “On the buy side, the focus is on risk-reducing and broadly diversified approaches,” he explains, citing the iShares Edge S&P 500 Minimum Volatility (IE00B6SPMN59).