Romanian investors did not completely withdraw when international stock markets collapsed, but became more active and focused especially on instruments that react quickly to market movements, such as American indices, gold and oil, reveals a specialized analysis published on Friday.

'The US attack on Iran, at the end of February 2026, caused a collapse of international stock markets. The fear that this conflict would expand led to a sudden increase in oil prices and amplified concerns about inflation and rising interest rates. Consequently, investors reacted,' note XTB Romania analysts.

To understand how Romanian investors respond when markets decline, they compared the volatility period February 24 - March 9 with the previous interval, January 1 - February 23 (used as a reference period).

'The results show that Romanians did not withdraw completely, but became more active and focused especially on instruments that react quickly to market movements, such as US indices, gold and oil. In the two weeks of the collapse analyzed, the average daily number of active investors in Romania increased by 12.3%, and the value of the capital used daily in trading increased by 8%. In parallel, deposits increased by 13%, and net deposits by 12.2%, a sign that some investors saw the period of decline as a moment of opportunity, and not as a reason to withdraw,' the analysis indicates.

The largest volumes were directed towards instruments frequently associated with periods of uncertainty or high volatility. For example, US100, a CFD instrument that tracks the Nasdaq 100 index, was the most traded, followed by gold (CFD). Oil (CFD instrument) also attracted interest from Romanian investors.

The data shows that indices and CFDs together accounted for 58% of the value of transactions made during the volatile period, indicating the interest of Romanian investors in volatility-sensitive instruments. Also, stocks and ETFs remained equally relevant, especially for XTB clients in Romania who prefer gradual capital accumulation or longer-term exposure.

'A notable element is that this increase in activity was not generated by a wave of new accounts. On the contrary, the number of new accounts opened per day was 16.6% lower than in the reference period. Therefore, the reaction during the volatility period came mainly from existing investors, already familiar with the markets', emphasize XTB Romania analysts.

During the analyzed volatility period, almost all the capital used in trading by Romanian investors came from experienced clients. They represented 97.5% of the value traded between February 24 and March 9, while new investors entered more cautiously, with smaller positions and a more visible orientation towards ETFs.

This difference shows that, in times of market stress, experience strongly influences the type of decision: active traders follow fast movements, while beginning investors prefer more diversified instruments and lower exposures, the analysis shows.

'The activity in Romania was different from that observed in other European markets in the XTB portfolio. In some countries, trading activity increased, but investors used smaller amounts. In Romania, on the other hand, the number of active investors, the total value of transactions and the amounts transferred by clients to their XTB accounts increased simultaneously. The evolution was close to that in Poland, one of the company's largest markets, and Romania stood out in particular by the stronger growth of the amounts fed into investment accounts', the specialists say.

XTB Group is an international provider of products, services and technological solutions for trading and investment. Since 2004, XTB Group has expanded its activity, which now covers over 20 major markets in Europe, Latin America and Asia, gaining the trust of over 1 million clients. AGERPRES(RO - writing by: Oana Tilica; EN - writing by: Bogdan Gabaroi)