ETF Market Wrap: Elevated Volumes Across Commodities, Currencies, and Alternatives

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Macro Summary

The market session exhibited heightened trading activity, recording a total volume of $417.21B and tracking 119% of the 30-day average. Commodities led the anomalous volume surge at 215% of average, while Currencies (156%), Alternatives (137%), and Fixed Income (137%) also saw outsized flows. Equities maintained strong baseline participation, trading $266.66B (109% of average).

Asset Class Volume 30D Avg. % of 30D Avg.
Equity $266.66B $243.85B 109%
Fixed Income $50.06B $36.61B 137%
Commodities $39.01B $18.17B 215%
Digital Asset $5.98B $6.06B 99%
Currencies $230.15M $147.51M 156%
Alternatives $2.47B $1.80B 137%
Non-Traditional $52.51B $44.12B 119%
Multi-Asset $282.95M $266.20M 106%

Equity

Equity volume stood at $266.66B, representing 109% of its 30-day average. Activity was largely balanced across the board, with concentrated outliers appearing in specific thematic strategies and select mid-cap segments.

High-Volume Categories

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Equity: Thematic – Midstream & MLPs 170% $242.62M +1.39%
Equity: Thematic – Precious Metals 167% $6.77B -6.08%
Equity: U.S. Mid Cap – Value 158% $451.30M -0.07%
Equity: Region – Eurozone 156% $1.37B -0.29%
Equity: Thematic – Multi-Sector 137% $1.22B -0.09%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
IDU iShares U.S. Utilities ETF 1231% $127.17M -0.37%
HEFA iShares Currency Hedged MSCI EAFE ETF 820% $256.92M -1.20%
FPAG FPA Global Equity ETF 817% $32.83M -0.39%
TPYP Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund 681% $19.57M +1.41%
IYM iShares U.S. Basic Materials ETF 674% $159.22M -2.25%
USMC Principal U.S. Mega-Cap ETF 646% $51.17M -0.62%
FXZ First Trust Materials AlphaDEX Fund 534% $17.42M -2.57%
VLU State Street SPDR S&P 1500 Value Tilt ETF 532% $14.06M +0.05%
JVAL JPMorgan U.S. Value Factor ETF US Value Factor Fund 439% $12.54M +0.05%
SMMD iShares Russell 2500 ETF 430% $90.74M +0.49%

Fixed Income

Fixed Income saw elevated trading, reaching $50.06B (137% of average). Outsized volume was largely propelled by interest rate volatility hedging and shorter-term taxable allocations across the curve.

High-Volume Categories

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Fixed Income: Specialty – Interest Rate Volatility 268% $172.00M -0.14%
Fixed Income: Taxable – Short-Term 209% $2.38B +0.00%
Fixed Income: Taxable – Government Short 181% $1.34B -0.04%
Fixed Income: Taxable – Multisector 178% $771.29M +0.04%
Fixed Income: Taxable – Inflation Protected 176% $1.11B -0.11%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
SPSB State Street SPDR Portfolio Short Term Corporate Bond ETF 1077% $1.04B +0.07%
EDGF 3EDGE Dynamic Fixed Income ETF 862% $47.64M -0.04%
SBIL Simplify Government Money Market ETF 857% $135.48M -0.01%
XTEN BondBloxx Bloomberg Ten Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF 638% $47.22M +0.15%
ITM VanEck Intermediate Muni ETF 517% $46.17M 0.00%
JPIB JPMorgan International Bond Opportunities ETF of Benef Interest 505% $74.69M -0.02%
IVOL KraneShares Quadratic Interest Rate Volatility and Inflation Hedge ETF 503% $15.47M -0.56%
LTPZ PIMCO 15+ Year US TIPS Index Exchange-Traded Fund 442% $15.51M +0.23%
EVMO Eaton Vance Mortgage Opportunities ETF 412% $17.58M +0.06%
EAGG iShares ESG Aware US Aggregate Bond ETF 303% $52.86M +0.11%

Commodities

Commodities experienced significant anomalous activity tracking 215% of the 30-day average, with a heavy $39.01B changing hands. Agriculture, Energy, and Precious Metals led the volume spikes.

High-Volume Categories

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Commodity: Focused – Agriculture 351% $208.03M +1.50%
Commodity: Focused – Energy 308% $12.66B -1.56%
Commodity: Focused – Industrial Metals 246% $107.82M -1.50%
Commodity: Focused – Precious Metals 187% $25.44B -3.76%
Commodity: Multi-Sector – Broad Market 170% $586.68M -1.35%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
BNO United States Brent Oil Fund LP 557% $1.06B -1.71%
USO United States Oil Fund LP 302% $11.23B -3.25%
IAUM iShares Gold Trust Micro ETF of Benef Interest 290% $802.47M -3.88%
DBA Invesco DB Agriculture Fund 278% $71.36M +0.37%
DBB Invesco DB Base Metals Fund 260% $25.12M -1.42%
PALL abrdn Physical Palladium Shares ETF 257% $120.06M -2.46%
IAU iShares Gold Trust 244% $2.83B -3.85%
CPER United States Copper Index Fund 243% $81.16M -0.19%
AAAU Goldman Sachs Physical Gold ETF 238% $316.67M -3.87%
SGOL abrdn Physical Gold Shares ETF 232% $545.41M -3.88%

Digital Asset

Digital Asset volume tracked near historical baselines at 99% of its average, totaling $5.98B for the session. Broad activity remained relatively muted without any major categorical breakouts.

High-Volume Categories

No items met the inclusion criteria for this session.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
BITO ProShares Bitcoin ETF 192% $1.74B -1.18%

Currencies

Currency ETFs observed a strong uptick in activity, trading $230.15M to capture 156% of the 30-day average.

High-Volume Categories

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Currency 156% $230.15M +0.30%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
UUP Invesco DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund 205% $127.20M -0.97%

Alternatives

Alternative strategies registered $2.47B in volume (137% of their rolling average), driven entirely by heightened participation in long volatility funds amid market movements.

High-Volume Categories

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Alternative: Volatility – Long 147% $2.05B -2.92%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
VXX iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN 166% $663.85M -3.08%
UVIX 2x Long VIX Futures ETF 161% $691.20M -5.63%

Non-Traditional

Non-Traditional products traded $52.51B, marking 119% of the standard average. Activity was most prominent in synthetic income generation and leveraged commodity strategies.

High-Volume Categories

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Non-Traditional: Synthetic Income – Commodity 271% $125.82M -3.71%
Non-Traditional: Leverage | Inverse – Commodity 169% $4.47B +0.74%
Non-Traditional: Leverage | Inverse – Fixed Income 125% $348.75M -0.13%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
IGLD FT Vest Gold Strategy Target Income ETF 610% $37.44M -4.91%
SFLR Innovator Equity Managed Floor ETF 355% $34.17M -0.19%
IAUI NEOS Gold High Income ETF 265% $27.89M -3.95%
MULL GraniteShares 2x Long MU Daily ETF 258% $176.40M -7.09%
SLVO UBS AG ETRACS Silver Shares Covered Call ETNs due April 21; 2033 ETP 2022-21.04.33 on CS NQ Slv FLS106 Pr 246% $21.65M -4.05%
MUU Direxion Daily MU Bull 2X ETF 244% $979.33M -7.10%
USOI UBS AG ETRACS Crude Oil Shares Covered Call ETNs due April 24; 2037 235% $9.18M -0.40%
LITX Tradr 2X Long LITE Daily ETF 233% $183.51M +21.50%
UCO ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Crude Oil 217% $794.50M -1.95%
SPDN Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bear 1X ETF 212% $1.28B +0.15%

Multi-Asset

Multi-Asset volume came in at $282.95M (106% of average), reflecting a relatively quiet session uniformly across target-risk and specialty allocation sleeves.

High-Volume Categories

No items met the inclusion criteria for this session.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
ALLW State Street Bridgewater All Weather ETF 246% $72.26M -0.82%
GDE WisdomTree Efficient Gold Plus Equity Strategy Fund 244% $16.16M -4.08%
AOK iShares Core 30/70 Conservative Allocation ETF 165% $12.55M +0.06%

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.