Equities and Volatility Lead the Charge in $350B ETF Session

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Macro Summary

Total market volume for the session reached $350.6B, representing 104% of the 30-day average. The trading day was characterized by a distinct surge in Equity activity (114% of ADV), contrasted sharply by a significant pullback in Commodity and Digital Asset engagement. While Equities drove the bulk of market turnover, safe-haven narratives within Fixed Income were nuanced, with specific high-activity in long-dated Treasuries and emerging market debt despite overall class volume trailing its average.

Asset Class Volume 30D Avg. % of 30D Avg.
Equity $251.4B $221.5B 114%
Fixed Income $31.8B $33.2B 96%
Commodity $14.4B $30.1B 48%
Digital Asset $5.5B $7.4B 74%
Currency $94.8M $116.3M 81%
Alternative $2.3B $1.2B 193%
Non-Traditional $44.9B $43.2B 104%
Multi-Asset $209.9M $245.2M 86%

Equity

The Equity asset class saw robust participation with total volume of $251.4B (114% of ADV). Growth names and specific sectors like Utilities led the charge. Notable outliers included FTC (+1.43%) which traded over 10x its normal volume, and a sharp rotation into XLU (+2.82%) as investors sought yield and stability.

High-Volume Categories

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Equity: Region – Asia-Pacific Ex-Japan 169% $279.0M +0.24%
Equity: Sector – Utilities 168% $2.2B +2.56%
Equity: Thematic – Multi-Sector 164% $1.2B +0.94%
Equity: Global Large Cap – Blend 160% $2.7B +0.29%
Equity: Thematic – Infrastructure 153% $742.9M +1.12%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
PSI Invesco Semiconductors ETF 1097% $112.1M +0.84%
FTC First Trust Large Cap Growth AlphaDEX Fund 1079% $33.1M +1.43%
IYZ iShares U.S. Telecommunications ETF 725% $311.3M +0.93%
LRGF iShares U.S. Equity Factor ETF 330% $60.7M +0.17%
JQUA JPMorgan U.S. Quality Factor ETF 327% $142.1M +0.66%
EXI iShares Global Industrials ETF 324% $31.1M +0.70%
RWR State Street SPDR Dow Jones REIT ETF 315% $96.0M +1.25%
DGT State Street SPDR Global Dow ETF 310% $12.2M +0.39%
FXO First Trust Financials AlphaDEX Fund 296% $29.4M +0.26%
AAXJ iShares MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan ETF 282% $200.8M +0.30%

Fixed Income

Fixed Income volume was slightly below average at $31.8B (96% of ADV). However, pockets of extreme activity were observed in Long-Term Government debt (136% activity) and Inflation Protected securities. DFIP was a massive standout, trading at 1139% of its ADV, signaling significant institutional positioning in TIPS.

High-Volume Categories

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Fixed Income: Taxable – Emerging 202% $304.4M +0.13%
Fixed Income: Taxable – Government Long 136% $6.6B +0.54%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
TIP iShares TIPS Bond ETF 177% $519.4M +0.12%
EDV Vanguard Extended Duration Treasury ETF 164% $124.0M +0.67%

Commodities

Commodities turnover was notably light, totaling $14.4B, which is just 48% of the 30-day average. Precious metals categories saw volume cuts of over 50%, though they managed a positive return session of 2.78%. Broad market multi-sector commodities provided the only real pocket of relative activity.

High-Volume Categories

No items met the inclusion criteria for this session.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
BCI abrdn Bloomberg All Commodity Strategy K-1 Free ETF 184% $60.7M +0.26%

Digital Asset

Digital assets saw a pullback in trading activity to $5.5B (74% of ADV), even as prices broadly climbed (average 1-day return of +5.99%). Bitcoin-focused funds remained the primary liquidity hub, while Ethereum and Altcoin categories trailed in volume versus their respective averages.

High-Volume Categories

No items met the inclusion criteria for this session.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

No items met the inclusion criteria for this session.

Currencies

Currency ETF volume was muted at $94.8M, representing 81% of the class’s 30-day average. The session saw flat returns across the major currency pairs represented in ETF wrappers.

High-Volume Categories

No items met the inclusion criteria for this session.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

No items met the inclusion criteria for this session.

Alternatives

Alternatives experienced a surge in turnover to $2.3B (193% of ADV), driven almost exclusively by heightened volatility. The Volatility – Short and Volatility – Long categories both traded at roughly 2x their normal pace as the VIX saw significant movement.

High-Volume Categories

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Alternative: Volatility – Short 214% $442.7M -0.61%
Alternative: Volatility – Long 196% $1.8B +1.22%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
VXX iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN 190% $545.1M +1.25%

Non-Traditional

Non-Traditional products, including leveraged and inverse ETFs, saw turnover of $44.9B (104% of ADV). Leveraged Equity remained the primary driver, though activity in Leverage | Inverse – Fixed Income spiked to 140% of normal levels. CONL saw massive volume and a staggering +33.5% return, reflecting extreme sentiment in individual crypto-related equities.

High-Volume Categories

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Non-Traditional: Leverage | Inverse – Fixed Income 140% $417.9M -0.03%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
SPXS Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 3x Shares 195% $579.8M -0.05%
SH ProShares Short S&P500 190% $487.9M +0.00%
SQQQ ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ 177% $5.6B -0.40%

Multi-Asset

Multi-Asset ETFs recorded $209.9M in volume, about 86% of the 30-day average. Global Macro and Growth target risk categories saw the most significant relative engagement, with Global Macro actually exceeding its average volume by 14%.

High-Volume Categories

No items met the inclusion criteria for this session.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

No items met the inclusion criteria for this session.

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 activity percentage. 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.