Inside Invest: What Aussie investors are buying in 2026

2026 has been a market of extremes. AI reshaped market leadership, driving sharp gains in infrastructure and semiconductor stocks while triggering a "SaaSpocalypse" in the software sector. Geopolitical tensions in the Middle East added further uncertainty to an already fast moving market.

Against that backdrop, how have investors responded?

In this trading update, we analyse trading activity across the CMC Invest community over the first six months of 2026, comparing it with our 2025 Inside Invest Report to explore how the rankings have changed and which new investment trends have emerged.

Three key takeaways  

1. "Buy the dip" behaviour continued 

The "buy the dip" behaviour observed throughout 2025 remained a defining feature of client activity in 2026. Several stocks that experienced sharp price declines climbed our most traded rankings while also recording some of the highest proportions of buy orders relative to sell orders. WiseTech, Xero and Microsoft were among the clearest examples, with 80% or more of all orders on each stock being buys. 

2. Winning stocks attracted more sellers 

The opposite pattern generally emerged among stocks that performed strongly. As share prices rose, trading became more evenly balanced between buying and selling. BHP, Woodside and AMD all saw the share of buy orders fall from around 70% of total orders in 2025 to closer to an even split in 2026. This suggests investors became more willing to sell as these stocks rallied, with some of that selling likely reflecting profit taking. 

3. Investors embraced emerging opportunities 

Investors looked beyond the market's traditional leaders, participating in emerging themes and newly available opportunities. The AI trade broadened beyond NVIDIA into Micron, SpaceX entered the top 10 most traded US stocks within weeks of becoming available to trade, while gold and silver ETFs also climbed the rankings. Together, these trends suggest investors remained willing to embrace high-profile, emerging opportunities in the face of volatility and uncertainty. 

Top traded Aussie stocks 

^{Source: CMC Invest, TradingView}  

• Buying the dip remained a defining theme: Clients continued accumulating popular Australian stocks during periods of share price weakness. CSL, WiseTech Global and Xero all ranked among the most traded Australian stocks despite sharp declines, with around 80% of all orders in each stock being buys. 

• Rising stocks attracted more sellers: Trading became more balanced across many of Australia's strongest performers. BHP's buy ratio fell from 70% to 54%, while Woodside's declined from 71% to 51%, suggesting stronger share price performance encouraged greater selling activity, including profit taking. 

• New names entered the top 10: Xero, WiseTech Global and 4DMedical replaced Woolworths, Mineral Resources and Fortescue. Sharp price declines in Xero and WiseTech, together with 4DMedical's strong share price momentum over the past year, may have been among the factors contributing to these names displacing blue-chip and mining heavyweights in the rankings. 

Top traded US stocks 

^{Source: CMC Invest, TradingView}  

^{*For ranking purposes, total orders executed and buy and sell activity combine Alphabet Class A (GOOGL) and Class C (GOOG) shares. The performance figure is based on GOOGL price data only.} 

• Microsoft and SpaceX drew exceptional demand: Microsoft climbed from 9th to 2nd in our US stock rankings despite falling 22% year to date, while the share of buy orders rose from 71% in 2025 to 85% in 2026. SpaceX also made an exceptional debut, entering the top 10 within weeks of becoming available to trade on CMC Invest, with 91% of all client orders being buys. 

• The AI trade broadened beyond NVIDIA: NVIDIA remained the most traded US stock, but its share of buy orders eased from 78% in 2025 to 70% in 2026. At the same time, Micron entered the top 10 for the first time after surging more than 300% in the first half, highlighting growing investor interest across the broader AI ecosystem. 

• Strategy and Palantir slipped, but buy ratios rose: Despite falling 34% and 43% respectively in the first half, Palantir and Strategy both recorded higher buy ratios than in 2025. Palantir's buy ratio increased from 68% to 73%, while Strategy's rose from 74% to 80%, extending the broader pattern of investors becoming proportionally more likely to buy than sell popular stocks as prices weakened. 

Top traded ETFs 

^{Source: CMC Invest, TradingView}  

• Investors' top ETF preferences remained unchanged: There was no change in the rankings of the top seven ETFs compared with 2025, highlighting the enduring popularity of broad market ETFs. 

• Precious metals gained momentum: GOLD climbed from 9th to 8th, while ETPMAG entered the top 10 for the first time. Both ETFs also recorded the lowest buy ratios among the top 10, suggesting more active two-way trading as investors responded to heightened volatility. 

• US technology outperformed: NDQ returned almost 15% in the first half of 2026, comfortably outperforming every other ETF in the top 10.

Cryptocurrencies 

Despite a broad sell-off across digital assets, investors continued buying into weakness. Bitcoin (BTC/USD) fell 32% in the first half of 2026, yet 80% of all orders were buys, continuing the trend seen in 2025, when that figure was 82%. A similar pattern was evident among the 2nd and 3rd most traded cryptocurrencies, Ethereum (ETH/USD) and Solana (SOL/USD), which recorded buy ratios of 76% and 72% respectively despite steep declines. 

Rest of world 

Beyond Australia, the US and cryptocurrencies, BYD (1211:HK) was the most traded instrument, overtaking Japan's Metaplanet (3350:JP), which fell to 2nd. Swedish company Sivers Semiconductors (SIVE:SE) rose to become the 3rd most traded, highlighting growing investor interest in the global AI supply chain. WisdomTree's 3x Oil (3OIL:GB) and 3x Silver (3SIL:GB) ETPs also entered the rest of world top 10, highlighting the range of ways investors engaged with volatile commodity markets. 

Final word 

The first half of 2026 showed a CMC Invest community that combined conviction with adaptability. Clients bought into weakness, took profits as winners rallied, embraced emerging opportunities and continued building long-term portfolios through broad market ETFs. Rather than following a single playbook, they adapted as markets evolved while staying focused on their long-term goals. With another six months still to play, the story of 2026 is only half written. New leaders will emerge, established favourites will be tested and fresh themes will continue to reshape markets. We'll be watching closely to see what captures the attention of the CMC Invest community next. 

Revisit our 2025 Inside Invest Report to see how investor behaviour has evolved. 

About the data:  

• Rankings: Determined by the total number of trades (buy and sell orders combined) placed by CMC Invest Australia retail clients from 1 January to 30 June 2026. 

• Buy-Sell Split: Shows the percentage of total orders that were buys, with the remaining percentage representing sells. This metric highlights client trading behaviour and engagement, rather than net portfolio positions or definitive investor intent. 

• Performance: Performance reflects share price movements only and excludes dividends, currency movements, taxes, transaction costs and other factors that may affect total returns.  

Disclaimer: This article provides general information only. It has been prepared without taking account of your objectives, financial situation or needs. It is not to be construed as a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell any financial instruments, or as a recommendation and/or investment advice. It does not intend to support an investment decision and it should not be relied upon by you in evaluating the merits of investing in any financial instruments. You should consider your objectives, financial situation and needs before acting on the information in this article. CMC Markets believes that the information in this article is correct, and any opinions and conclusions are reasonably held or made on information available at the time of its compilation, but no representation or warranty is made as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of any statements made in this article. CMC Markets is under no obligation to, and does not, update or keep current the information contained in this article. Neither CMC Markets nor any of its affiliates or subsidiaries accepts liability for loss or damage arising out of the use of all or any part of this article. Any opinions or conclusions set forth in this article are subject to change without notice and may differ or be contrary to the opinions or conclusions expressed by any other members of CMC Markets.