Commodities ETFs & Precious Metals ETFs See Outsized Volumes

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Macro Summary

Markets saw a moderate pace of trading today, with total volume hitting $294.2B and activity levels at 106% of the 30-day average. The day’s defining narrative was the aggressive surge in the commodities space, specifically within precious metals. Investors flocked to the Commodity: Focused – Precious Metals category (finishing the day up 1.50%), which traded 154% of its average daily volume. This rush was largely driven by heavy turnover in SLV (closing +2.75%) and miners like SGDJ (closing +3.26%), signaling a strong “risk-off” or inflation-hedging rotation amidst broadly average activity elsewhere.

Asset Class Summary

Asset Class Volume 30D Avg. % of 30D Avg.
Equity $204.9B $190.7B 107%
Fixed Income $31.4B $29.9B 105%
Commodities $12.2B $7.7B 157%
Crypto $6.3B $7.5B 83%
Currencies $82.9M $83.4M 99%
Alternatives $1.0B $1.4B 74%
Non-Traditional $38.2B $40.1B 95%
Multi-Asset $185.4M $168.7M 110%

Equity

Equity markets saw $204.9B in total volume, trading at 107% of the 30-day average. Activity was concentrated in thematic and sector plays, with the Equity: Thematic – Precious Metals category (finishing the day up 4.04%) leading the charge among high-volume segments. Notable flows also occurred in the Equity: Sector – Financials category (finishing the day up 1.09%) and Equity: Sector – Real Estate (finishing the day up 0.30%). The session’s idiosyncrasies were highlighted by extreme activity in RSPN (closing +1.12%), which saw over 31x its normal volume, and MISL (closing +1.98%), further emphasizing the rotation into industrial and defense names.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Equity: Thematic – Precious Metals 157% $4.1B +4.04%
Equity: U.S. Small Cap – Value 145% $571.1M +0.82%
Equity: Thematic – Infrastructure 140% $405.6M +0.79%
Equity: Sector – Financials 129% $4.8B +1.09%
Equity: Sector – Real Estate 124% $2.1B +0.30%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
RSPN Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Industrials ETF 3165% $186.5M +1.12%
MISL First Trust Indxx Aerospace & Defense ETF 1523% $44.6M +1.98%
SGDJ Sprott Junior Gold Miners ETF 1472% $51.3M +3.26%
PTNQ Pacer Trendpilot 100 ETF 996% $28.3M -0.23%
FXR First Trust Industrials/Producer Durables AlphaDEX Fund 958% $126.5M +1.18%
XOVR ERShares Private-Public Crossover ETF 569% $26.1M -0.42%
VTHR Vanguard Russell 3000 ETF 417% $39.3M +0.28%
FLIN Franklin FTSE India ETF 414% $42.7M +0.03%
BALT Innovator Defined Wealth Shield ETF 406% $79.9M +0.08%
SPTM State Street SPDR Portfolio S&P 1500 Composite Stock Market ETF 400% $215.2M -0.23%

Fixed Income

Fixed Income trading reached $31.4B, representing 105% of its 30-day average. The session saw outsized interest in the municipal space, with Fixed Income: Municipal – Short (finishing the day up 0.02%) and Fixed Income: Municipal – High Yield (finishing the day up 0.08%) both seeing elevated flows. Notable activity was also seen in international debt, specifically the Fixed Income: Taxable – International USD category (finishing the day up 0.06%). Specific tickers driving this action included IBDX (closing -0.06%) and SEIX (closing -0.06%), highlighting a mix of defined maturity and senior loan positioning.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Fixed Income: Municipal – Short 175% $240.4M +0.02%
Fixed Income: Taxable – International USD 172% $500.5M +0.06%
Fixed Income: Specialty – Defined Maturity 168% $644.1M -0.01%
Fixed Income: Municipal – High Yield 154% $133.6M +0.08%
Fixed Income: Taxable – Government Intermediate 141% $909.9M +0.02%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
IBDX iShares iBonds Dec 2032 Term Corporate ETF 604% $43.1M -0.06%
SEIX Virtus Seix Senior Loan ETF 569% $21.0M -0.06%
IBDS iShares iBonds Dec 2027 Term Corporate ETF 511% $87.7M +0.02%
NXUS NuShares ETF Trust Nuveen International Aggregate Bond ETF 484% $250.0M 0.00%
BAB Invesco Taxable Municipal Bond ETF 343% $10.3M -0.06%
BSCP Invesco Bulletshares 2025 Corporate Bond ETF 341% $118.1M +0.05%
EVSM Eaton Vance Short Duration Municipal Income ETF 318% $11.3M +0.01%
IGOV iShares International Treasury Bond ETF 284% $22.8M +0.33%
JMST JPMorgan Ultra-Short Municipal Income ETF 276% $120.7M -0.01%
IGIB iShares 5-10 Year Investment Grade Corporate Bond ETF 242% $371.3M -0.06%

Commodities

Commodities were the standout asset class of the day, with total volume of $12.2B surging to 157% of the 30-day average. The action was overwhelmingly concentrated in the Commodity: Multi-Sector – Broad Market category (finishing the day up 0.15%) and the Commodity: Focused – Energy category (finishing the day down 1.74%). However, the sheer dollar volume in Commodity: Focused – Precious Metals (finishing the day up 1.50%) underscored the flight to hard assets. This trend was exemplified by massive trading in COMT (closing -0.84%), which saw activity explode to over 24x its average, and sustained heavy buying in SLV (closing +2.75%).

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Commodity: Multi-Sector – Broad Market 201% $334.3M +0.15%
Commodity: Focused – Energy 189% $953.8M -1.74%
Commodity: Focused – Precious Metals 154% $10.8B +1.50%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
COMT iShares U.S. ETF Trust iShares GSCI Commodity Dynamic Roll Strategy ETF 2414% $96.1M -0.84%
FTGC First Trust Global Tactical Commodity Strategy Fund 308% $24.9M -0.72%
SLV iShares Silver Trust 255% $3.8B +2.75%
SIVR abrdn Physical Silver Shares ETF 252% $250.1M +2.79%
USO United States Oil Fund LP 193% $584.8M -1.72%
HGER Harbor Commodity All-Weather Strategy ETF 191% $23.5M +0.85%
GLTR abrdn Physical Precious Metals Basket Shares ETF 190% $23.3M +1.75%
UNG United States Natural Gas Fund LP 186% $338.7M -8.33%
CPER United States Copper Index Fund 180% $26.1M +1.59%

Crypto

Digital assets remained relatively muted, with total volume coming in at $6.3B, or just 83% of the 30-day average. While broad interest was subdued, the Digital Asset: Cryptocurrency – Multicoin category (finishing the day down 2.03%) saw pockets of activity, though overall volumes remained low. The lack of major catalysts was reflected in the outliers, with BITW (closing -0.65%) and BITO (closing +0.04%) seeing the most notable relative engagement in an otherwise quiet session for the space.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
No categories met the high-volume criteria.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
BITW Bitwise 10 Crypto Index ETF 196% $9.3M -0.65%
BITO ProShares Bitcoin ETF 180% $831.2M +0.04%
BTC Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust ETF 151% $157.4M -0.12%

Currencies

Currency volumes were steady at $82.9M, tracking perfectly at 99% of the 30-day average. While no single category met the high-volume threshold, traders focused their attention on specific fiat exposures within the Currency category (finishing the day up 0.12%). The day’s standout activity was concentrated in the Japanese Yen and Swiss Franc, largely driven by heavy turnover in FXY (closing +0.14%) and FXF (closing +0.60%).

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
No categories met the high-volume criteria.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
FXY Invesco Currencyshares Japanese Yen Trust 184% $16.1M +0.14%
FXF Invesco CurrencyShares Swiss Franc Trust 157% $8.5M +0.60%

Alternatives

Alternative strategies were notably quiet, with $1.0B in volume trading at just 74% of the 30-day average. While overall interest was thin, the Alternative: Absolute Return – Event Driven category (finishing the day up 0.07%) saw some relative strength compared to peers. With no significant outliers breaking out, the session was characterized by a lack of conviction in volatility or hedging strategies, leaving no specific high-activity tickers to highlight.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
No categories met the high-volume criteria.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
No high-activity ticker outliers for this asset class.

Non-Traditional

Non-Traditional ETFs saw $38.2B in volume, operating at 95% of the 30-day average. The day’s most aggressive trading was focused on the Non-Traditional: Leverage | Inverse – Commodity category (finishing the day up 0.15%), which saw volumes spike to 170% of normal levels. This thematic intensity was largely driven by heavy turnover in BALT (closing +0.08%), which saw over 4x its typical volume, and the continued speculative fervor in AGQ (closing +5.45%).

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Non-Traditional: Leverage | Inverse – Commodity 170% $1.7B +0.15%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
BALT Innovator Defined Wealth Shield ETF 406% $79.9M +0.08%
AGQ ProShares Ultra Silver 292% $725.2M +5.45%
DPST Direxion Daily Regional Banks Bull 3X Shares 236% $135.2M +1.48%
JNUG Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bull 2X Shares 216% $102.6M +8.16%
DDM ProShares Ultra Dow30 216% $57.3M +2.94%
RSPA Invesco S&P 500 Equal Weight Income Advantage ETF 204% $6.9M +0.34%
ROBN T-Rex 2X Long HOOD Daily Target ETF 190% $139.2M -17.71%
MSTY YieldMax MSTR Option Income Strategy ETF 188% $178.8M -1.58%
UCO ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil 185% $79.0M -3.03%
USOI UBS AG ETRACS Crude Oil Shares Covered Call ETNs due April 24; 2037 185% $5.8M -1.34%

Multi-Asset

Multi-Asset strategies saw $185.4M in volume, trading at 110% of the 30-day average. Activity was driven by yield-seeking behavior, with the Asset Allocation: Specialty – Multi-Asset Income category (finishing the day down 0.02%) seeing significant relative flows. While broader allocation volume was moderate, the day’s activity was highlighted by specific interest in AOM (closing +0.18%), which saw distinct buying pressure.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
No categories met the high-volume criteria.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
AOM iShares Core 40/60 Moderate Allocation ETF 158% $14.5M +0.18%

Disclaimer: This AI-assisted commentary is for informational purposes only. The “High-Volume Categories” table includes categories with over $100M in volume and activity at least 125% of their 30-day average, limited to the top 5 by volume. The “High-Activity Ticker Outliers” table shows the top 10 ETFs from each asset class, sorted by the highest trading activity versus their 30-day average. All reported ETFs have AUM over $250M and an ADV greater than $2.5M.

Disclosures: This material is for informational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice. All investments, including ETFs, involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Investors should consider their investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses carefully before investing.

This analysis was developed by the team at ETF Action. We leverage advanced AI tools to assist in the drafting and refinement of our content, based on our expert prompts, direction, and final review.