Pockets of Intense Activity in Commodities and Fixed Income Drive an Otherwise Tepid Trading Day

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Total ETF trading volume landed at $225.3B, coming in at 106% of the 30-day average. While the broad market saw only slightly elevated activity, certain segments experienced intense turnover. Precious Metals-focused equity and commodity funds saw a surge in interest, trading at 167% and 166% of their normal volume, respectively. Multiple corners of the bond market were also exceptionally active, with Short-Term, Inflation-Protected, and Defined Maturity taxable bond categories all trading at over 150% of their 30-day averages.

Equity

Equity ETFs saw slightly elevated trading, with volume reaching $152.8B, or 106% of the 30-day average. Within U.S. markets, Large-Cap Growth funds saw above-average turnover and led performance with a +0.49% gain. International equities were also active, driven by a massive volume spike in Emerging Market Small-Caps, which surged +0.79%. In sectors and themes, Communication Services led all categories with a +1.60% gain, while Energy sector funds were the day’s biggest laggards, falling -1.96% on heavy volume.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

CategoryActivity vs ADV$ Volume1-Day Return
Equity: Thematic – Precious Metals167%$2.6B+1.12%
Equity: U.S. Mid Cap – Growth150%$294.8M-0.11%
Equity: Global Ex-U.S. Large Cap – Value146%$637.4M+0.02%
Equity: Sector – Communication Services144%$982.0M+1.60%
Equity: Thematic – Sustainability136%$131.4M+0.20%
Equity: Sector – Energy132%$2.4B-1.96%
Equity: Emerging Large Cap130%$3.2B+0.38%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

TickerNameActivity vs ADV$ Volume Traded
FLQLFranklin U.S. Large Cap Multifactor Index ETF1394%$64.1M
DGSWisdomTree Emerging Markets SmallCap Dividend Fund1239%$39.1M
RINGiShares MSCI Global Gold Miners ETF856%$118.1M
OAKMOakmark U.S. Large Cap ETF745%$32.4M
ESPOVanEck Video Gaming and eSports ETF732%$22.2M

Fixed Income

Fixed Income was a hub of activity, with total volume of $30.3B representing 119% of the 30-day average. Long-duration government bonds were the clear winners, gaining +1.00% on the day, while convertible bonds were the weakest segment, posting a -0.30% loss.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

CategoryActivity vs ADV$ Volume1-Day Return
Fixed Income: Taxable – Short-Term156%$1.5B+0.06%
Fixed Income: Taxable – Inflation Protected151%$778.6M+0.16%
Fixed Income: Specialty – Defined Maturity150%$401.8M+0.21%
Fixed Income: Taxable – Emerging USD147%$926.2M+0.15%
Fixed Income: Taxable – Government Long143%$5.8B+1.00%
Fixed Income: Taxable – Core138%$2.3B+0.29%
Fixed Income: Municipal – Short128%$172.4M+0.05%
Fixed Income: Taxable – Corporate126%$5.4B+0.37%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

TickerNameActivity vs ADV$ Volume Traded
JPLDJPMorgan Limited Duration Bond ETF3006%$319.3M
SCYBSchwab High Yield Bond ETF1120%$203.4M
SPSBSPDR Portfolio Short Term Corporate Bond ETF935%$651.5M
IBDXiShares iBonds Dec 2032 Term Corporate ETF571%$30.2M
IBTGiShares iBonds Dec 2026 Term Treasury ETF473%$40.6M

Commodities

Commodities experienced a major surge in trading, with volume hitting $8.0B, a significant 160% of its 30-day average. The high turnover was driven by divergent performance, as Precious Metals funds gained +0.79% while Energy commodity ETFs fell sharply by -1.27%.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

CategoryActivity vs ADV$ Volume1-Day Return
Commodity: Focused – Precious Metals166%$7.2B+0.79%
Commodity: Focused – Energy126%$622.0M-1.27%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

TickerNameActivity vs ADV$ Volume Traded
DBCInvesco DB Commodity Index Tracking Fund200%$18.3M
PPLTabrdn Physical Platinum Shares ETF189%$55.9M
GLDSPDR Gold Shares188%$5.2B
SLViShares Silver Trust179%$1.0B
HGERHarbor Commodity All-Weather Strategy ETF166%$7.5M

Currencies (Trad & Non-Trad)

Non-Traditional (Crypto): Digital asset ETFs saw subdued trading, with volume of $5.1B representing only 82% of the 30-day average. However, the group delivered a strong weighted average return of +2.42%. Within this class, Solana-focused crypto funds were a pocket of high activity, trading well above their recent norms.

Traditional (FX): Traditional currency ETFs also saw a quiet session, with trading volume of $63.7M coming in at 77% of the 30-day average.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

No categories met the high-volume criteria.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

No high-activity ticker outliers for this asset class.

Alternative

Alternative strategy ETFs traded at 86% of their average volume, totaling $947.1M. The asset class saw split performance, with Multi-Strategy funds gaining +0.65% while Long Volatility funds dropped -2.67%.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

No categories met the high-volume criteria.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

No high-activity ticker outliers for this asset class.

Multi-Asset

Multi-Asset funds saw quiet trading, with volume of $110.5M coming in at 93% of the 30-day average. Performance was led by Alternative Asset Sleeve funds, which gained +0.80%, while Real Asset strategies were roughly flat.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

No categories met the high-volume criteria.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

TickerNameActivity vs ADV$ Volume Traded
GDEWisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund160%$6.0M
AOAiShares Core 80/20 Aggressive Allocation ETF151%$8.5M

High-Activity Settings: For a category to be included in the “High-Volume Categories” table, it must have traded over $100 million in total volume on the report date. For the purposes of this report, “High-Activity Outliers” are defined as ETFs with over $250 million in Assets Under Management (AUM) and a 30-day average daily volume (ADV) exceeding $2.5 million. The outliers listed for each section are aggregated from all underlying categories, sorted by the highest percentage of average daily volume, and limited to a maximum of the top 5.

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.