ETFs: “Anything related to oil and gas is generating strong trading volume”

According to traders, sentiment in the ETF market has improved somewhat. However, oil and gas prices remain high. Defense stocks are seeing significant sell-offs. 

March 31, 2026. FRANKFURT (Deutsche Börse). High oil and gas prices are shaping ETF and ETC trading. “Everything related to oil and gas is seeing strong trading volume,” reports Frank Wöllnitz of ICF Bank. At Lang & Schwarz, too, oil and gas are the top topic. “But silver is catching up,” notes Michael Norizin. Holger Heinrich of Baader Bank speaks of “another challenging week.” “However, purchases are outpacing sales, with increased trading volumes,” he explains.

The oil price has recently risen again and stood at just under $107 per barrel of North Sea Brent on Tuesday afternoon. Lang & Schwarz’s trading-savvy clientele is buying and selling leveraged oil and gas price trackers, specifically the triple-leveraged WTI, Brent, and Natural Gas ETCs from WisdomTree. There is also significant activity in the WisdomTree Silver 3x Daily Leveraged ETC (IE00B7XD2195), which tracks the silver price with 3x leverage. “Industrial metals such as aluminum and nickel are also in focus,” adds Norizin (GB00B15KXN58, GB00B15KY211).

Stocks: Europe and Global Over the U.S.

Norizin observes “normal trading volume” in the equity ETF market. “The sentiment is generally positive,” he explains. Investors are tending to favor global and European equities over U.S. stocks, and U.S. tech stocks in particular. “Europe was once again characterized by very high trading activity,” notes Baader Bank trader Heinrich. On the buy side, the Xtrackers Euro Stoxx (LU0274211217) and the UBS Core MSCI Europe (LU0950668524) are among the top performers; on the sell side, the UBS Euro Stoxx 50 (LU0136234068) and the Amundi MSCI Europe Minimum Volatility (LU1681041627).

“The World ETFs aren’t quite as much in the spotlight,” observes Heinrich. There is interest in the WisdomTree Megatrends (IE0000902GT6). This fund focuses on companies expected to benefit from global megatrends. On the other hand, the broadly diversified and currency-hedged Xtrackers MSCI World Swap EUR Hedged (LU0659579733) is seeing outflows. At ICF, the Deka MSCI World UCITS (DE000ETFL508) is in demand, as is the Xtrackers MSCI World (IE00BJ0KDQ92).

“Emerging market stocks as a long-term trend”

According to Heinrich, the picture for U.S. stocks is also mixed, with a buyer’s surplus: Here, the Xtrackers S&P 500 Swap (IE000HY30YW6) is being bought, as well as the Amundi MSCI USA Daily (-1x) Inverse (LU1327051279), which tracks the performance of the MSCI USA index in reverse. On the sell lists: the Deka Nasdaq-100 (DE000ETFL623).

Emerging market stocks are clearly in demand. “This is a medium- or long-term trend,” notes Norizin. Although the MSCI Emerging Markets has also lost ground recently, it is still up slightly since the start of the year. By contrast, the DAX and S&P 500 fell by 7.5 percent, and the Nasdaq 100 by as much as 9 percent.

There is significant trading volume at ICF in the Invesco ChiNext 50 (IE000AWRDWI7), which tracks China’s growth companies. Wöllnitz sees a great deal of speculative trading in Leverage Shares 3x Long South Korea, an ETP that tracks the Korean stock market with 3x leverage (XS2472196257).

Sell-off in defense stocks

In addition to oil and gas companies, defense stocks are also a major focus in trading sector ETFs. “We’re mostly seeing sell-offs; the sharp price decline is likely the reason,” Norizin speculates. Rheinmetall’s share price has fallen to its lowest level in a year, and other defense stocks like Renk and Hensoldt have also lost significant ground. The reason is general market weakness; many also believe that positive expectations are already factored into current prices. The VanEck Defense (IE000YYE6WK5) is currently trading at just under 56 euros after reaching an all-time high of over 64 euros in January, while the WisdomTree Europe Defense (IE0002Y8CX98) is trading at 31 euros after peaking at 36 euros.