FRANKFURT (DEUTSCHE BOERSE AG) - Following a series of record highs on Wall Street, the market is now taking a breather. However, tech ETFs remain in demand, as do oil ETCs, driven by the recent rebound in crude prices. Also popular: niche themes such as space exploration.
May 20, 2026. FRANKFURT (Deutsche Börse). The AI fever of the previous week has cooled slightly, with the Middle East conflict and high oil prices returning to the forefront. 'Sentiment is mixed,' reports Ivo Orlemann, who trades ETFs for ICF Bank. Alongside buy orders, he is also seeing a fair amount of redemptions. Last week, the US tech-heavy Nasdaq reached new highs. Consequently, tech trackers were among the volume leaders in ETF trading, according to traders.
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In high demand at ICF: the VanEck Semiconductor (IE00BMC38736). This index fund is also among the top turnover generators at Lang & Schwarz, as reported by Michael Norizin. Over a twelve-month period, the price has more than doubled. Leveraged tech ETFs are also seeing strong demand, according to Norizin. Furthermore, certain specialized themes are clearly gaining traction. ICF clients are heavily positioned in L&G Clean Water (IE00BK5BC891) and VanEck Space Innovators (IE000YU9K6K2). Conversely, the VanEck Defense (IE000YYE6WK5) is being sold - the sector has been under selling pressure for several weeks.
Tech indices in the lead
In the early months of the year, gold mining and oil/gas indices dominated the list of top-performing sectors for 2026. Now, technology indices have reclaimed the lead, according to data from the ETF platform justETF. The top three spots are held by semiconductor indices, which serve as the basis for ETFs from iShares (IE000I8KRLL9), HSBC, and Global X (IE0000ZL1RD2). They have posted price gains of 64 to 69 percent since the start of the year. An oil services index, the MarketVector US Listed Oil Services 10% Capped Index - the underlying for the VanEck Oil Services (IE000NXF88S1) - only appears in fourth place.
More on this: justetf.com
Profit-taking in equity ETFs
In contrast, broad-based equity ETFs are currently frequently found on sell lists, as Orlemann reports, such as the Invesco MSCI World (IE00B60SX394). Even the VanEck Morningstar Developed Markets Dividend Leaders (NL0011683594), which features high-dividend stocks and is usually in high demand, is currently mostly being offloaded. Notably, an emerging markets tracker, the HSBC MSCI Emerging Markets (IE000KCS7J59), recently saw the highest turnover at ICF, also characterized by outflows. The MSCI Emerging Markets reached a record high a week and a half ago and has shown some weakness since then. However, it still shows a gain of 17 percent since the beginning of the year.
Rising oil prices: Renewed interest in oil ETCs
Trading activity in commodity ETCs has picked up again, according to Norizin, particularly in oil price ETCs. Given the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, the Brent price has risen back above 110 US dollars per barrel. The trading-oriented clientele at Lang & Schwarz favors leveraged products, 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 being offloaded, Orlemann notes, including gold price trackers from Invesco (XS2183935274, IE00B579F325) and WisdomTree (JE00BN2CJ301), as well as silver price trackers from WisdomTree (JE00B1VS3333), including the 3x Daily Short version (XS3306517924). Norizin sees increased interest in the WisdomTree Silver 3x Daily Leveraged (XS3306516876), which recently underwent a 10-for-1 split. 'This was well received by clients; liquidity has increased significantly.'
By Anna-Maria Borse, May 20, 2026, © Deutsche Börse AG
(Deutsche Börse AG is solely responsible for the content of this column. The articles do not constitute an invitation to buy or sell securities or other assets.)
