FRANKFURT (DEUTSCHE-BOERSE AG) – After ever new highs on Wall Street, it’s now time to take a breath. However, tech ETFs remain in demand, as do oil ETCs – because of the rise in oil prices. Also popular: special topics such as space travel.
May 20, 2026. FRANKFURT (German Stock Exchange). The AI fever of the previous week has cooled down somewhat, the Middle East conflict and high oil prices are more present again. “The mood is mixed,” reports Ivo Orlemann, who trades ETFs for ICF Bank. In addition to purchases, he also sees quite a few returns. Last week, new highs were reached on the US tech stock exchange Nasdaq. In ETF trading, tech trackers are therefore among the top sales leaders, as traders report.
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Very popular at the ICF: the VanEck Semiconductor (IE00BMC38736). The index fund is also one of the top sellers at Lang & Schwarz, as Michael Norizin reports. Over the course of twelve months, the price has more than doubled. According to Norizin, tech ETFs with leverage are also in high demand. In addition, some more specific topics are apparently also convincing. ICF customers rely heavily on the L&G Clean Water (IE00BK5BC891) and the VanEck Space Innovators (IE000YU9K6K2). The VanEck Defense (IE000YYE6WK5) is more likely to be sold – the industry has been under pressure to sell for several weeks.
Tech indices ahead
In the first few months of the year, gold mining and oil/gas indices dominated the list of the best sectors in 2026. Now it is technology indices again, as figures from the ETF platform justETF show. In the first three places are semiconductor indices, the basis for ETFs from iShares-ETF (IE000I8KRLL9), HSBC () and Global X (IE0000ZL1RD2). They have achieved price gains of 64 to 69 percent since the beginning of the year. Only in fourth place is an oil service provider index, the MarketVector US Listed Oil Services 10% Capped Index, basis for VanEck Oil Services (IE000NXF88S1).
More information: justetf.com
Taking Profits on Stock ETFs
Broadly diversified stock ETFs, on the other hand, are currently often found on the sales lists, as Orlemann reports, such as the Invesco MSCI World (IE00B60SX394). The otherwise almost always sought-after VanEck Morningstar Developed Markets Dividend Leaders (NL0011683594) with high-dividend stocks is also currently being sold. Strikingly, the highest turnover at the ICF was recently achieved by an emerging market tracker, the HSBC MSCI Emerging Markets (IE000KCS7J59), also with levies. The MSCI Emerging Markets reached a record high a week and a half ago and has been somewhat weaker since then. However, there has still been an increase of 17 percent since the beginning of the year.
Oil price rise: More oil ETCs again
There is more going on again in trading in raw material ETCs, as Norizin reports, especially in oil price ETCs. Given the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, the price of Brent has risen back above $110 per barrel. Lang & Schwarz’s trading-savvy customers like to rely on products with leverage, specifically the WisdomTree WTI Crude Oil 3x Daily Leveraged (IE00BMTM6B32), the WisdomTree WTI Crude Oil 3x Daily Short (XS2819844387) and their Brent counterparts.
Precious metal ETCs are more likely to be sold off, as Orlemann notes, such as gold price trackers from Invesco (XS2183935274, IE00B579F325) and WisdomTree (JE00BN2CJ301) as well as silver price trackers from WisdomTree (JE00B1VS3333), also with leverage 3 in the short version (XS3306517924). Norizin sees increased interest in WisdomTree Silver 3x Daily Leveraged (XS3306516876), which just split at a 10-to-1 ratio. “This has been well received by customers and liquidity has increased significantly.”
By Anna-Maria Borse, May 20, 2026, © Deutsche Börse AG
(Deutsche Börse AG is solely responsible for the content of the column. The contributions are not a request to buy or sell securities or other assets.)