15/07/25 13:17:56

ETFs: German stocks no longer in demand

A rush on European stocks? That was once upon a time. Now, global and US stocks are once again in high demand. The surge in the price of silver is also attracting a lot of attention, as is the recent all-time high for Bitcoin.
 

15 July 2025. FRANKFURT (Börse Frankfurt). The rush for European stocks and sell-off of US stocks that dominated much of the first half of the year appears to be over. Frank Mohr of Société Générale reports a significant buying surplus for MSCI World trackers, a smaller one for US index funds, and predominantly sales of DAX ETFs. However, there are other issues currently dominating ETP trading, as Frank Wöllnitz from ICF Bank reports: silver and cryptocurrencies. Silver is currently at its most expensive level in 14 years, and Bitcoin reached a new all-time high yesterday.

There was a lot of activity in trading yesterday, Monday. “Yesterday we saw a lot of movement, especially sales of large equity ETFs,” reports Andreas Schröer from Lang & Schwarz. The stock markets recorded losses yesterday due to US President Trump's tariff announcement. At midday on Tuesday, the DAX stood at 24,200 points, after reaching a new all-time high of 24,639 points last Wednesday. 

Renewed interest in US and tech stocks

According to Mohr, MSCI World index funds from iShares (IE00B4L5Y983) and Xtrackers (IE00BJ0KDQ92) are in demand, as are S&P 500 ETFs from iShares, BNP, Amundi, SPDR, and Vanguard. On the other hand, the iShares Core DAX and the Deka DAX (DE000ETFL011) are on the selling lists.

Tech stocks are popular again in sector ETF trading. “They account for a third of our sales of sector ETFs, mainly purchases,” Mohr notes. Examples include Xtrackers Artificial Intelligence & Big Data (IE00BGV5VN51), WisdomTree Artificial Intelligence (IE00BDVPNG13) and Xtrackers MSCI World Information Technology (IE00BM67HT60). Shares from the healthcare and banking sectors are also in demand, as are more unusual ones such as VanEck Space Innovators (IE000YU9K6K2). 

Mohr

Frank Mohr

Two defense ETFs among the top five

Otherwise, defense ETFs continue to be a hot topic. According to Schröer, WisdomTree Europe Defense (IE0002Y8CX98) remains in high demand. The focus on defense ETFs is also reflected in the Xetra turnover list for June: The most traded equity ETFs on Xetra were the iShares index funds on Euro Stoxx 50, MSCI World, and DAX. However, two defense ETFs, VanEck Defense and WisdomTree Europa Defense, are already in fourth and fifth place. 

Andreas Schröer 

Europe's favorite stocks in the first half of the year.

From January to June 2025, a net total of €144 billion flowed into ETFs domiciled in Europe – 77 percent of which went into equities, 19 percent into bonds, and another 4 percent into gold products, according to ETF analysis and trading firm Crossflow. Investment objectives have changed significantly since February compared to the previous year. In 2024, 50 percent of equity investments still flowed into US ETFs. From February 2025 onwards, however, European and global investments were favored. According to Crossflow, defense stocks were particularly well received. 

Back and forth in bonds, silver price at fourteen-year high

According to Mohr, the picture for bond ETFs is currently clear: US Treasuries are being sold and euro government bonds are being bought. Money market funds continue to see strong turnover, with both purchases and sales.

There is also a lot of activity currently in trading in mining ETFs and gold and, above all, silver ETCs. According to Wöllnitz, the Global X Silver Miners ETF (IE000UL6CLP7) and the WisdomTree Silver 3x Daily Leveraged ETC (IE00B7XD2195) are “only sought after.” Among Lang & Schwarz's trading-savvy clientele, the WisdomTree Gold 3x Daily Leveraged (IE00B8HGT870) is popular, as are leveraged silver ETCs. The price of silver continues to rise and is currently at $38.31, its highest level since 2011. The price of gold, on the other hand, has been moving sideways for months. 

Bitcoin record leads to purchases

Bitcoin is on a record course, reaching a new high of US$123,021 yesterday, Monday. At midday on Tuesday, it was slightly lower. “We saw a lot of purchases during the price rise, but today it's more sales,” notes Wöllnitz. This affects VanEck Bitcoin (DE000A28M8D0), 21Shares Cardano (CH1102728750) and 21Shares Crypto Basket Index (CH0445689208), among others. At Lang & Schwarz, trading in crypto ETNs is “limited,” as Schröer reports. “When trading does take place, it is increasingly in second- and third-tier cryptocurrencies such as Ripple or Algorand.”  

By Anna-Maria Borse, 15 July 2025, © Deutsche Börse AG

Anna-Maria Borse is a financial and business editor specializing in financial markets/stock exchanges and economic issues.

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