Market Volume at 83% of Average as Target Risk Growth Leads

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Macro Summary

The February 20, 2026 session was characterized by broadly muted trading activity, with total market volume reaching $271.46 billion—equating to just 83% of the 30-day average. While engagement remained light across nearly all major segments, the Multi-Asset class bucked the overarching trend, standing as the sole category to demonstrate above-average trading volume for the day.

Asset Class Volume 30D Avg. % of 30D Avg.
Equity $194.65B $216.77B 90%
Fixed Income $28.66B $32.04B 89%
Commodity $11.88B $29.48B 40%
Digital Asset $2.78B $6.88B 40%
Currency $55.34M $116.34M 48%
Alternative $1.01B $1.27B 80%
Non-Traditional $32.15B $41.87B 77%
Multi-Asset $262.50M $238.80M 110%

Equity

Equities posted broadly positive returns (+0.57%) during a largely quiet session. Total volume of $194.65 billion sat slightly beneath the trailing average at 90%. However, pockets of localized strength emerged in specific areas, notably within Global Large Cap Blend and the Consumer Discretionary sector, driven by outsized participation in funds like CGDG and EWZS.

High-Volume Categories

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Global Large Cap – Blend 149% $2.45B +0.70%
Sector – Consumer Discretionary 148% $2.41B +0.78%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
CGDG Capital Group Dividend Growers ETF 658% $188.92M +0.60%
EWZS iShares MSCI Brazil Small-Cap ETF 643% $52.25M +1.58%
GNR State Street SPDR S&P Global Natural Resources ETF 543% $151.59M +0.08%
SMLF iShares U.S. SmallCap Equity Factor ETF 538% $126.40M +0.42%
BTAL AGF U.S. Market Neutral Anti-Beta Fund 526% $45.05M -0.43%
GSEW Goldman Sachs Equal Weight U.S. Large Cap Equity ETF 519% $40.80M +0.32%
PDP Invesco Dorsey Wright Momentum ETF 503% $15.00M +1.21%
IYZ iShares U.S. Telecommunications ETF 397% $211.10M +0.93%
ABFL Abacus FCF Leaders ETF 375% $10.77M +0.80%
GFLW VictoryShares Free Cash Flow Growth ETF 350% $14.04M +0.81%

Fixed Income

Bond markets registered a balanced and uneventful session, with aggregate returns completely flat and volume printing at $28.66 billion (89% of normal). Despite the suppressed baseline activity, robust flow was observed in specific ultrashort and CLO-focused vehicles, led heavily by PAAA and targeted Treasury implementations.

High-Volume Categories

No items met the inclusion criteria for this session.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
PAAA PGIM AAA CLO ETF 588% $638.55M +0.04%
XTEN BondBloxx Bloomberg Ten Year Target Duration US Treasury ETF 363% $19.65M -0.09%
VGUS Vanguard Ultra-Short Treasury ETF 324% $39.65M +0.03%
GVI iShares Intermediate Government/Credit Bond ETF 294% $54.30M +0.02%
CALI iShares Short-Term California Muni Active ETF 281% $9.43M +0.03%
FEMB First Trust Emerging Markets Local Currency Bond ETF 253% $12.84M -0.16%
PICB Invesco International Corporate Bond ETF 222% $7.80M +0.52%
VBIL Vanguard 0-3 Month Treasury Bill ETF 220% $291.13M +0.03%
NBSD Neuberger Berman Short Duration Income ETF 203% $22.48M -0.09%
EVMO Eaton Vance Mortgage Opportunities ETF 198% $7.74M -0.06%

Commodities

Commodity ETFs enjoyed a broad rally (+1.29%) despite extremely light volume. The asset class traded just $11.88 billion, tracking at an anemic 40% of its normal 30-day average. While aggregate engagement was suppressed, the GSG indexed trust captured a notable isolated flow premium.

High-Volume Categories

No items met the inclusion criteria for this session.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
GSG iShares S&P GSCI Commodity Indexed Trust 167% $37.39M +0.41%

Digital Asset

Digital assets posted strong outsized gains (+1.55%) on heavily subdued volume. The segment traded $2.78 billion, representing roughly 40% of its historic 30-day average, indicating price appreciation driven by low liquidity rather than widespread broad accumulation.

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 ETFs experienced negligible movement and remarkably light trading engagement, turning over just $55.34 million in total volume (48% of the 30-day average) with effectively flat net returns.

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

Alternative strategies remained quiet, finishing with an aggregate volume of $1.01 billion (80% of normal) and broadly flat daily performance. No singular categories or specific tickers managed to trigger high-activity thresholds during the session.

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.

Non-Traditional

Leveraged, inverse, and synthetic income strategies traded $32.15 billion, tracking below historical baselines at 77% of average volume. However, individual outlier funds in deep buffer solutions (like DJAN) and single-stock leveraged categories attracted significant speculative flow.

High-Volume Categories

No items met the inclusion criteria for this session.

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
DJAN FT Vest US Equity Deep Buffer ETF – January 443% $11.79M +0.39%
SH ProShares Short S&P500 207% $562.52M -0.68%
BULZ MicroSectors Solactive FANG & Innovation 3X Leveraged ETN 205% $136.47M +1.61%
SPXL Direxion Daily S&P 500 Bull 3x Shares 196% $1.14B +2.14%
EFAA Invesco MSCI EAFE Income Advantage ETF 191% $10.29M +0.48%
MLPI NEOS MLP & Energy Infrastructure High Income ETF 180% $21.13M +0.41%
NVDY YieldMax NVDA Option Income Strategy ETF 170% $114.30M +0.86%
SPXU ProShares UltraPro Short S&P500 164% $512.87M -2.09%
IWMI NEOS Russell 2000 High Income ETF 161% $29.89M +0.10%
AMZU Direxion Daily AMZN Bull 2X Shares 158% $173.40M +4.81%

Multi-Asset

Multi-Asset stood out as the only asset class to surpass its 30-day volume average, trading $262.50 million (110% of normal). The session was heavily driven by Target Risk – Growth strategies, underpinned by pronounced specific activity from outcome-oriented and macro funds like AGOX and CGBL.

High-Volume Categories

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Asset Allocation: Target Risk – Growth 173% $127.65M +0.50%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
AGOX Adaptive Alpha Opportunities ETF 522% $14.24M +0.77%
CGBL Capital Group Core Balanced ETF 253% $117.22M +0.70%

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.