ETFs: “The U.S. is viewed in a more nuanced way”
ETFs: “The U.S. Is Viewed in a More Nuanced Light“
September 22, 2026. FRANKFURT (Deutsche Börse). U.S. markets are currently heading toward new highs, and the Nasdaq 100 tech index is also clearly on the rise again. However, skepticism still prevails in the ETF market. “Overall, we’re seeing a clear buyer’s market, but when it comes to tech stocks, buying and selling are evenly balanced,” reports Frank Mohr of Société Générale. Due to the recent rise in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, trading in crypto-ETNs is also much busier than before, as Maurice Mohnfeld of Lang & Schwarz reports.
Bitcoin has risen from $75,000 last Wednesday to $86,000 by Tuesday at noon. “We’re seeing strong inflows into Bitcoin ETNs, as well as into second- and third-tier options,” Mohnfeld reports. Particularly popular are Bitcoin ETNs from 21shares (CH0454664001), WisdomTree (GB00BJYDH287), and—in a version that the provider claims is climate-neutral—Valour (GB00BQ991Q22).
Global stocks are particularly in demand
Among Société Générale’s clients, global stocks are once again the focus of trading in equity ETFs, with a clear bias toward buying. Popular choices include the Amundi MSCI World Screened (IE000Q5CPXZ1), the Vanguard FTSE All-World (IE00BK5BQT80), and the iShares Core MSCI World (IE00B4L5Y983). “When it comes to global ETFs, minimum volatility is in demand,” reports Holger Heinrich of Baader Bank, referring to minimum volatility ETFs from iShares (IE00BKVL7778) and Amundi (IE0001DKJVC2). Both offer exposure to stocks of companies with low volatility.
According to Mohr, U.S. stocks are also in high demand, though not quite as much as global stocks. Examples include S&P 500 ETFs from Amundi (LU1681048804) and iShares (IE000QZ7JON9). However, there have also been some outflows. “The U.S. is viewed in a more nuanced way,” explains Mohr. According to Heinrich, the trend in trading volume for U.S. stocks shows a certain shift from defensive strategies toward those with slightly broader diversification. The iShares S&P 500 Scored and Screened (IE000R9FA4A0), for example, is popular.
Frank Mohr
According to Mohr, European stocks are also usually on the shopping lists, such as the Amundi Core Stoxx Europe (LU0908500753) and DAX trackers from iShares or Xtrackers (DE0005933931, LU0274211480). “In the European segment, there is a focus on sustainable strategies,” Heinrich notes. One example is the Deka MSCI Europe Climate Change ESG CTB (DE000ETFL565)..
Tech Stocks: New Positions and Profit-Taking
As usual, tech trackers dominate trading in sector ETFs. “Inflows are outpacing outflows, but only slightly,” Mohr reports. The Xtrackers Artificial Intelligence & Big Data (IE00BGV5VN51), for example, has been hit by selling, while investors are still betting on the Xtrackers MSCI World Information Technology (IE00BM67HT60). The latter has just reached a new all-time high thanks to price gains in recent days. It is now up 30 percent since the start of the year.
Stocks in the energy and financial sectors are also seeing brisk trading, as Mohr adds, with inflows mostly into energy ETFs (IE00BM67HM91) and outflows from financial ETFs (<IE00B4JNQZ49). The VanEck Space Innovators (IE000YU9K6K2) is also being sold off. It has since given back a large portion of its price gains by the end of May.
Semiconductors Lead the Way. Semiconductor and cybersecurity indices have delivered the best results so far this year, according to data from the ETF platform justETFs. At the top of the list of top performers are six semiconductor indices with price gains ranging from 65 to 96 percent. The best of these is the Mirae Asset AI Semiconductor & Quantum Index, which serves as the basis for the Global X AI Semiconductor & Quantum (IE0000ZL1RD2). In seventh place is the WisdomTree Team8 Cybersecurity Index, which serves as the basis for the popular WisdomTree Cybersecurity (IE00BLPK3577), with a price gain of 64 percent.
- More on this: www.justetf.com
Gold and silver are back in the spotlight as well
As Mohr notes, trading in bond ETFs continues to revolve largely around money market trackers, with frequent buying and selling. However, government bonds from the U.S. (IE00BGPP6473) and the eurozone (IE00BH04GL39>) are also proving popular.
According to Lang & Schwarz trader Mohnfeld, trading in gold and silver ETCs has picked up significantly. When it comes to gold, there is a strong focus on pure price trackers, while for silver, the emphasis is on leveraged products such as the WisdomTree Silver 3x Daily Leveraged (XS3306516876). At the same time, there has been little price movement in precious metals: The price of gold has recently fallen and currently stands at $4,319. The price of silver has been moving sideways for several weeks.
By Anna-Maria Borse, September 22, 2026, © Deutsche Börse AG
About the Author
Anna-Maria Borse is a finance and business editor specializing in financial markets, the stock market, and economic issues.
Please send feedback and questions to live@deutsche-boerse.com
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