ETFs: AI Stocks—Between Conviction and Skepticism

Tech and semiconductor ETFs, which had previously been sold off, are now in demand again. However, doubts about AI valuations remain, and there are also some sell-offs. Broadly diversified global and U.S. ETFs are clearly popular.

July 8, 2026. FRANKFURT (Deutsche Börse). Despite new all-time highs for the DAX, the ETF market is playing out differently. “Global and U.S. stocks recently accounted for over 70 percent of our trading volume—with a clear net buying trend,” reports Frank Mohr of Société Générale. European stocks, by contrast, accounted for only 6 percent of trading volume, with buys and sells evenly split.

The DAX recently reached a new all-time high of 25,894 points; as of Tuesday afternoon, it still stands at 25,668 points. But the Dow Jones is also at a record high.
According to Mohr, investors continue to snap up MSCI World ETFs from iShares (IE00B4L5Y983), FTSE All-World trackers from Vanguard (IE00B3RBWM25), and MSCI ACWI ETFs from SPDR (IE00B3YLTY66), as well as S&P 500 trackers from iShares or Vanguard (IE00B5BMR087, IE00BFMXXD54). Among ICF clients, the VanEck Morningstar Developed Markets Dividend Leaders (NL0011683594) is in demand, as reported by Ivo Orlemann, as is the L&G Gerd Kommer Multifactor Equity (IE0001UQQ933). Mohr, on the other hand, reports buying and selling activity in Stoxx Europe 600 and MSCI Europe trackers. ICF trader Orlemann observes predominantly selling in the Deka DAX (DE000ETFL011).

Semiconductors/AI: Confidence Returns—For Now

U.S. tech stocks that were on the sell list last week are now in demand again; according to Mohr, these include the Invesco EQQQ Nasdaq-100 (IE00BFZXGZ54>) and the Xtrackers Nasdaq-100 (IE00BMFKG444). Also in demand are the iShares S&P 500 IT (IE00B3WJKG14), the Xtrackers AI & Big Data (IE00BGV5VN51), and the First Trust Nasdaq Cybersecurity (IE00BF16M727). “However, there’s also been quite a bit of selling,” adds Mohr. According to Orlemann of ICF, the WisdomTree Nasdaq 100 3x Daily Leveraged ETN (IE00BLRPRL42>) remains popular, as does the VanEck Semiconductor (IE00BMC38736)—albeit at low levels.

U.S. tech stocks have been treading water for several weeks; the Nasdaq 100, currently at 29,447 points, is somewhat below its record high of 30,747 points. Today, Tuesday, negative signals are once again coming from Asia: South Korea’s Kospi, now considered an AI index, lost 8 percent at one point. At Lang & Schwarz, there is currently a lot of activity in the Franklin FTSE Korea (IE00BHZRR030) and Amundi MSCI Korea (LU1900066975) funds, mostly involving sales but also some purchases, as Michael Norizin reports. 

Profit-Taking in the Healthcare Sector

Another focus in trading sector ETFs is the healthcare sector. “Sell-offs dominate here,” explains Mohr. Examples include the Invesco Nasdaq Biotech (IE00BQ70R696) and the Xtrackers MSCI World Health Care (IE00BM67HK77). The VanEck Space Innovators (IE000YU9K6K2), which is currently trading about 30 percent below its May high, is sometimes bought and sometimes sold, as Mohr also notes. A favorite among ICF clients is the L&G Clean Water (IE00BK5BC891), which most recently even topped the sales charts.