FRANKFURT (DEUTSCHE-BOERSE AG) - At the start of the month, savings plans are trending in index fund trading. Dealers are reporting notable demand for Japan ETFs surrounding Sunday's parliamentary election. Meanwhile, previously high trading activity in gold and silver ETCs is tapering off somewhat.
February 11, 2026. FRANKFURT (Deutsche Börse). As is typical for early February, broadly diversified global index funds top the turnover rankings. Frank Mohr from Société Générale points to the numerous savings plans executed at the beginning of the month. Fresh capital is mainly flowing into MSCI World ETFs from iShares and Amundi (IE00B4L5Y983, among others), as well as the Vanguard FTSE All-World (IE00BK5BQT80). Ivo Orlemann from ICF Bank notes strong buying in this segment for the Deka MSCI World (DE000ETFL508).
Japanese Benchmark Index Hits All-Time High After Election
Mohr also cites the additional demand at the start of the month as the main reason for the clear buying surplus and the above-average share of traded equity ETFs. There was also conspicuous interest in Japanese stocks ahead of the parliamentary election. There, the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi secured a historic majority in the lower house, the House of Representatives, on Sunday. This propelled the Japanese benchmark Nikkei 225 to a record high at the start of the week. Investors had stocked up in advance, especially with the Amundi Prime Japan (LU2089238385) and the Xtrackers MSCI Japan ESG (IE00BG36TC12).
For US and European equities, dealers report a nearly balanced ratio between buys and sells. The most traded products here include the Xtrackers S&P 500 Swap (LU0490618542), the iShares Nasdaq 100 (IE00B53SZB19), the Amundi Core Stoxx Europe 600 (LU0908500753), and the L&G MSCI Europe Climate Pathway (IE00BKLTRN76). A similar picture emerges for trackers with companies from emerging markets. The focus here is on the MSCI Emerging Markets funds from HSBC (IE000KCS7J59), Amundi (LU1681045370), and Invesco (IE00B3DWVS88).
Technology Funds Continue to See Outflows
In sector ETF trading, tech trackers continue to dominate, with sales still outpacing buys. Mohr notes outflows for the Xtrackers MSCI World Information Technology (IE00BM67HT60) and the iShares Automation & Robotics (IE00BYZK4552). There is still a slight buying surplus for the Xtrackers Artificial Intelligence & Big Data ( < IE00BGV5VN51). Andreas Schröer from Lang & Schwarz reports high turnover in the tech sector. "There's quite a lot going on here," the dealer explains, citing the iShares S&P 500 Information Technology Sector (IE00B3WJKG14) as an example.
Since Thursday evening, according to Schröer, the iShares STOXX Europe 600 Food & Beverage (DE000A0H08H3) has also been appearing on many investors' shopping lists. As a possible reason, he points to Amazon's quarterly results, released after the market closed that day, with the company strongly represented in this sector index. The index fund has performed relatively well over the past two weeks.
No Clear Trend for Gold and Silver
Volatile precious metals remain a major topic in the ETF market. "Turnover is somewhat lower compared to the previous week, but there's still quite a lot of activity," Orlemann explains. Trading is focused mainly on the Invesco Physical Gold (IE00B579F325) and the WisdomTree Physical Silver (JE00B1VS3333).
The dealer cannot discern a clear direction: "Because price swings were so strong, there were both buys and sells. When prices drop, a lot of stop orders are triggered. On the other hand, lower bid prices are also executed for purchases."
Schröer also notes a slight calming of what had previously been unusually high trading volumes for precious metal funds. At Lang & Schwarz as well, buys and sells were balanced. Orders mainly focused on leveraged ETFs such as the WisdomTree Silver 3x Daily Leveraged (IE00B7XD2195) and the WisdomTree Gold 3x Daily Leveraged (IE00B8HGT870).
Long-Term Bonds Added to Portfolios
Mohr observes an interesting trend in bond ETF trading. Currently, long-term European issues are in focus. Purchases include the Xtrackers II Eurozone Government Bond 7-10 (LU0290357259) and the Amundi Euro Government Tilted Green Bond (LU1681046261). On the other hand, there are outflows for the Xtrackers II US Treasuries (LU0429459356), which covers the US bond sector.
By Thomas Koch, February 10, 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.)
