Iran war drives record trading in Australian ETFs as markets whipsaw

14 April 2026

• Australian-listed ETFs saw almost $26 billion in turnover in March
• Over two million ETF trades were made in the month
• A record $1.9 billion flows into Australian equity ETFs Australian ETF investors made a record number of trades in March and flocked to Australian equities as the rising price of oil and constant news flow from the Middle East dominated investor sentiment.

The latest Global X ETF Market Scoop, released today, found nearly $26 billion worth of ETFs were traded in March alone, surpassing the previous Liberation Day peak of $22 billion in April 2025.

Global X ETFs Senior Product and Investment Strategist Marc Jocum said ETFs acted as a stabilising force and an efficient transmission mechanism for capital flows.

“Investor activity was incredibly high throughout March, with markets moving on every breaking story coming out of the Middle East, oil price movements and TACO announcements from US President Donald Trump,” Mr Jocum said.

“ETFs enabled investors to quickly reposition portfolios without needing to trade individual securities in increasingly volatile underlying markets. This highlights the core structural advantages of ETFs - continuous intraday pricing, deep market liquidity, and the ability to gain or reduce exposure instantly across equities, bonds, cash and commodities,” he said.

“Importantly, activity was not solely defensive. Trading patterns reflected a blend of risk reduction, tactical rotation, and dip-buying in core exposures, reinforcing ETFs’ dual role as both hedging instruments and long-term accumulation vehicles,” he said.

Home bias returns

A record $1.9 billion flowed into Australian equity ETFs in March, representing 33% of total monthly inflows, the highest share in around a year.

Mr Jocum said Australian investors are increasingly favouring familiar ground while simultaneously broadening their global exposure beyond the US.

“This resurgence in home bias is not unprecedented,” he said. “During periods of market stress, such as COVID-19 and prior volatility shocks, Australian investors have historically gravitated toward domestic equities, drawn by familiarity, dividend income, and exposure to certain sectors,” he said.

“Over the past five years, Australian equities have attracted an average of 29% of total ETF flows, despite global equities dominating new product launches and overall market share. March’s higher than average flow share could mark an inflection point for Australian equities returning to favour, particularly after a blockbuster reporting season in February.”

Hydrogen the quiet achiever

While oil attracted plenty of attention in March, hydrogen equities have been among the strongest performers over the past year, as the narrative shifts from policy ambition to early-stage execution.

Generous subsidies across the US, Europe and Asia have de-risked capital investment, while a growing pipeline of projects reaching final investment decision has improved forward revenue visibility.

“Performance has also been amplified by select company re-ratings, with firms like Bloom Energy seeing outsized gains, quintupling over the past year, driven by stronger order books, improving unit economics, and positioning in data centre and industrial power solutions,” Mr Jocum said.

“The combination of policy support, improving cash flow visibility, and expanding end-markets has underpinned strong performance, with the Global X Hydrogen ETF (HGEN) emerging as the top-performing Australian ETF over the past year, delivering a ~105% return.”