Capital.com, the global online derivatives trading platform, has reported $1.13 trillion in client trading volumes for Q2 2026 (April to June).
Volume traded in Gold markets accounted for 42.4% of total Q2 platform volume, the highest share of any instrument on the platform and consistent with the higher proportion of platform activity directed toward commodity markets across the quarter.
Total trades executed in Q2 2026 were 34.9 million, a decrease of 23.2% compared with 45.4 million in Q1 2026. Average trade size in Q2 increased 16.0% to $32,418, compared with $27,950 in Q1 2026, indicating that while the number of trades was lower, clients were placing larger individual positions across the quarter.
Q2 2026 was characterised by three distinct phases of market activity. April was the most active month for commodity markets as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz disrupted activity in energy and precious metals. In May, easing of Middle East tensions and a broad equity rally shifted activity toward technology and index markets, with volumes of $369.4 billion, the lowest of the three months. June saw Gold market prices pull back toward $4,000 per ounce as expectations of future US interest rate hikes rose, while increased equity market activity drove a greater share of platform volume.
Across the instrument mix, the US Tech 100 was the second most actively traded instrument at 25.9% of Q2 platform volume, with trading activity elevated in June as equity markets saw increased price movement. WTI Crude Oil accounted for 7.0% of Q2 volume, the Dow Jones 30 for 4.8%, and the DAX 40 for 4.0%. Silver saw increased trading activity across the quarter, with its share of platform volume rising from April to June as precious metals markets remained active.
Commenting on how Q2 2026 market conditions shaped client trading activity, Kyle Rodda, Senior Market Analyst, Capital.com, said: “Q2 2026 presented retail traders with a succession of distinct market conditions, with the dominant theme shifting throughout the quarter. The Strait of Hormuz disruption in April concentrated activity in energy and Gold markets, and the data shows that clearly: volume traded in Gold markets reached 42.4% of total platform volume for the quarter. As the situation eased in May, we saw activity shift toward equity indices, with the US Tech 100 becoming a proportionally larger share of platform volume following strong US tech earnings. June continued that rotation, with Gold market prices pulling back and equity market activity increasing. What the Q2 data reflects is clients adjusting their market exposure as conditions changed.”
Europe accounted for 21.7% of Q2 platform volume. Among EU markets, the five most active European markets by volume in Q2 were Germany at 22.8% of European volume, Italy at 5.5%, the Netherlands at 4.1%, France at 3.4%, and Poland at 2.8%, with the remaining volume distributed across other European markets. Across the region, volume traded in Gold markets represented 35.3% of European volume, the US Tech 100 at 26.8%, and WTI Crude Oil at 9.0%. The DAX 40 accounted for 6.6% of European volume, reflecting home-market index activity.
UK client activity was equity-led: the US Tech 100 was the most actively traded instrument in the region at 40.0% of UK volume, above its platform-wide share of 25.9%. Volume traded in Gold markets accounted for 13.8% of UK volume and the DAX 40 for 11.9%. The elevated US Tech 100 share is consistent with the increase in equity market volatility observed in June, which drove a greater proportion of platform activity across the quarter.
The instrument mix in Australia was closely balanced between commodity and equity markets: volume traded in Gold markets at 24.0% and the US Tech 100 at 23.2%, with the Dow Jones 30 at 7.1% and the DAX 40 at 6.1%. Asia accounted for 5.4% of Q2 platform volume.
Stop-loss adoption and risk management
Stop-loss adoption increased in Q2 2026, with 26.6% of positions carrying a stop-loss instruction, up from 22.4% in Q1 2026. The growth in adoption reflects a broader pattern of retail clients applying structured risk controls, a discipline that Capital.com actively supports through educational content on stop-loss placement and calibration. Setting a stop-loss removes the need for a real-time decision at the point of maximum market stress, taking emotion out of the exit decision and replacing it with a pre-defined rule.
Stop-loss adoption varied significantly by market in Q2 2026. Among major European markets, Sweden recorded 32.0%, the Netherlands 31.2%, Germany 29.3%, and Italy 29.1%, all above the platform-wide average of 26.6%. In the UAE, stop-loss adoption was lower than the platform-wide average, indicating that structured risk management practice in the region remains at an earlier stage of adoption.
“Europe is a mature, diverse market and the Q2 data reflects that. Clients across the region are using the platform across a broad range of instruments and applying more structured approaches to how they manage their positions. Growing stop-loss adoption tells us that clients are making deliberate decisions about risk before they enter a trade, not after. That is the kind of trading discipline we want to support, and it is what we build the platform to enable.”
Christoforos Soutzis, Chief Executive Officer, Europe, Capital.com
