Top US stock picks by Indian investors: How AI chips and ETFs are reshaping portfolios

Five AI chip and hardware stocks took 47% of orders for the top ten. So what exactly are Indians buying in the US stock market, and why now? Why are Indians going global? The Nifty 50 is down nearly 13% so far in 2026. The S&P 500 is up 12%, and the Nasdaq-100 has gained 16%. That gap is hard to ignore. India also makes up only about 4% of global equity market capitalization, so most opportunities lie elsewhere.

For an investor, diversification across large, mid and small cap companies at home helps. But geographic diversification helps too. It spreads the risk beyond a single economy. Staying concentrated at home exposes investors to regional shocks, including tariffs and currency swings. The rupee adds to the case. Viram Shah, Founder and CEO of Vested, says a US stock "pays in two ways," through its own return and through the currency.

By his math, the S&P 500 is up about 14% in dollars. He puts the dollar's gain against the rupee at nearly 5.3%, so the rupee return for an Indian investor in US stocks comes to closer to 20%. Technology is nearly 50% of total traded value on Vested, Shah says. Semiconductor and hardware names, including Micron, Nvidia, Broadcom, Marvell and SanDisk, drew exceptionally heavy interest, he adds. Appreciate's data tells the same story.

Nvidia drew the most buyers from July to September. The other four of the top ten chip and hardware names were AMD, SanDisk, Super Micro Computer and Micron. Chip and memory makers have taken about half of top-ten orders through 2026, Moulik says. Srivastav adds that SanDisk and Micron together drew 1.3 times Nvidia's buy orders. Indian investors, he says, now treat AI as a supply chain to be owned in layers.

Beyond Nvidia: where is the AI money moving? Moulik calls this the clearest new trend. Orders for Broadcom were 2.2 times their April to June level, and orders for Super Micro Computer were 2.1 times. But it is not all AI. Orders for Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI), which tracks almost the entire US market, were 6.2 times their April to June level, as investors pair concentrated AI bets with broad exposure.

Healthcare's share of buyers rose to 6.4% from 5.1%, the largest gain among the five most bought sectors. Top ETFs and ADRs for Indian Investors On Vested PlatformOn Appreciate PlatformInvesco QQQ Trust (QQQ)VOO (S&P 500)Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO)SOXL (semiconductors, 3x daily leveraged)iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (SGOV)SOXX (semiconductors)Invesco Nasdaq-100 ETF (QQQM)QQQ (Nasdaq 100)ADRsVTI (total US stock market)SK Hynix (SKHY)DRAM (memory)BYD (BYDDY)SMH (semiconductors)Rolls-Royce Holdings (RYCEY)QTUM (quantum computing)LVMH (LVMUY)GLD (gold)SOXS (semiconductors, 3x daily inverse)Source: Vested and Appreciate Source: Vested and Appreciate Global ETFs in Portfolio Nearly one in three investors who bought on Appreciate in the quarter bought at least one ETF, Moulik says.

VOO, which tracks the S&P 500, drew the most buyers. With QQQ and VTI, broad index funds took three of the top five places. The rest of the list follows themes: semiconductors through SOXX and SMH, memory through DRAM, quantum computing through QTUM and gold through GLD. One entry stands out. SOXL, which delivers three times the daily move of semiconductor stocks, ranked second. Vested sees the same shift.

Shah says ETFs have recorded positive net inflows since 2024, with net buying at about 10% of total traded value. ETF trading activity surged about 205% in 2025. In 2026, through October, it is already about 32% above the full-year 2025 level. Trading amounts in commodity ETFs rose about 116% in 2026 against 2025, and trade counts about 174%. Net invested value rose 45%. SPDR Gold Shares (Ticker: GLD) offer investors an innovative, relatively cost-efficient, and secure way to access the gold market.

GLD's investor base grew from 340 in 2024 to 1,690 in 2026, and the amount traded rose from about $659K to $7.95M. The lower-priced GLDM grew its investor base about 6.9 times. Copper is the standout non-gold story, Vested says, with CPER's investor base up about four times. The five physical gold ETFs account for about 83% of 2026 traded amount. United States Copper Index Fund ETV (CPER) is designed to be a convenient, cost-effective way for investors to access the returns of a portfolio of copper futures contracts.

Three trends, one direction Vested sees three trends. First, AI and semiconductors. Second, ETFs becoming a core vehicle. Third, a gradual widening beyond the US, into Europe, Japan and Hong Kong, across industrials, luxury goods, autos and advanced manufacturing. Vested says the top ADRs its investors buy include SK Hynix, BYD, Rolls-Royce and LVMH. Appreciate's three trends are the AI supply chain, broad diversification alongside it, and healthcare.

The bottom line It clearly emerges that AI is the headline, but diversification is the story. Indians are sending more money abroad each year, and they are building a diversified global portfolio. Much of it follows the AI supply chain. But the rush into S&P 500 and total-market ETFs, gold, healthcare and non-US names shows that global diversification is the bigger theme. The data points to a structural shift rather than a one-off spike, as Indian money moves abroad faster each year.

Investors must conduct their own independent due diligence and seek advice from a SEBI-registered financial advisor. Financial Express is not responsible for any decisions made based on this information.