Thematic Tech and “Industrial Revolution” Lead $272B Surge

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Macro Summary

The ETF market recorded a total trading volume of $272.5B today, representing 117% of its 30-day average. The day’s narrative was defined by a massive surge in thematic and specialized equity strategies, specifically within the Industrial Revolution category, which saw volume skyrocket to 267% of normal levels despite a -0.50% return. This defensive and technology-led repositioning was further evidenced by extreme turnover in specific international factor funds like EMGF (-0.47%) and JHMD (-0.45%), suggesting a broad institutional shift in global equity exposure.

Asset Class Summary

Asset Class Volume 30D Avg. % of 30D Avg.
Equity $187.1B $161.4B 116%
Fixed Income $31.1B $24.9B 125%
Commodity $14.1B $10.3B 137%
Digital Asset $5.3B $5.7B 94%
Currency $61.9M $75.6M 82%
Alternative $733.1M $807.7M 91%
Non-Traditional $34.0B $29.6B 115%
Multi-Asset $213.9M $177.2M 121%

Equity

Equity ETFs saw total volume of $187.1B, trading at 116% of their 30-day average. The session was dominated by significant turnover in the Health Care category (finishing the day up 1.21%) and the Financials sector (closing -1.24%). Extreme activity in SHLD (closing +1.55%) drove the Thematic – Industrial Revolution narrative, while broad-based rebalancing was evident in international factor leaders like EMGF (closing -0.47%) and JHMD (closing -0.45%).

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Equity: Sector – Health Care 183% $5.6B +1.21%
Equity: Sector – Financials 135% $4.0B -1.24%
Equity: Emerging Large Cap 126% $3.8B -0.56%
Equity: Sector – Energy 147% $2.9B -1.07%
Equity: Sector – Industrial 167% $2.7B -0.71%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
EMGF iShares Emerging Markets Equity Factor ETF 851% $32.3M -0.47%
JHMD John Hancock Multifactor Developed International ETF 774% $51.6M -0.45%
QGRW WisdomTree U.S. Quality Growth Fund 736% $103.7M +0.17%
QQH HCM Defender 100 Index ETF 621% $18.1M +0.10%
PBW Invesco WilderHill Clean Energy ETF 545% $90.7M -1.37%
OMFL Invesco Russell 1000 Dynamic Multifactor ETF 524% $55.5M -0.77%
SHLD Global X Defense Tech ETF 429% $210.2M +1.55%
IXP iShares Global Comm Services ETF 422% $17.9M -0.21%
PTL Inspire 500 ETF 411% $14.2M -0.98%
ITA iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF 400% $432.1M -2.23%

Fixed Income

Fixed Income ETFs reached $31.1B in total volume, trading at 125% of their 30-day average. Activity was particularly concentrated in the Municipal – Intermediate category (finishing the day up 0.28%) and Taxable – Government Long (closing +0.49%). The move was supported by extreme turnover in XHLF (closing 0.00%) and FMB (closing +0.27%), highlighting a flight to safety and duration management as yields stabilized.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Fixed Income: Municipal – Intermediate 166% $1.3B +0.28%
Fixed Income: Taxable – Government Long 135% $5.1B +0.49%
Fixed Income: Taxable – Short-Term 165% $1.4B +0.01%
Fixed Income: Taxable – Government Short 150% $778.0M -0.00%
Fixed Income: Taxable – Core Enhanced 136% $671.7M +0.07%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
XHLF BondBloxx Bloomberg Six Month Target Duration US Treasury ETF 755% $103.8M +0.01%
FMB First Trust Managed Municipal ETF 730% $58.7M +0.27%
FLCB Franklin U.S Core Bond ETF 675% $44.0M +0.09%
JSI Janus Henderson Securitized Income ETF 600% $36.4M +0.00%
XBIL US Treasury 6 Month Bill ETF 465% $22.9M +0.00%

Commodities

Commodity ETFs registered $14.1B in volume, or 137% of their 30-day average. The Focused – Precious Metals category (finishing the day down 2.08%) saw significant turnover, alongside a surge in Focused – Industrial Metals (closing -3.14%). High-activity tickers like CPER (closing -3.45%) and SIVR (closing -3.77%) signaled a sharp reduction in metals exposure as part of the session’s broader risk-off move.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Commodity: Focused – Precious Metals 139% $13.3B -2.08%
Commodity: Multi-Sector – Broad Market 102% $173.6M -0.77%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
CPER United States Copper Index Fund 227% $52.2M -3.45%
SIVR abrdn Physical Silver Shares ETF 208% $438.7M -3.77%
HGER Harbor Commodity All-Weather Strategy ETF 205% $28.3M -0.48%
SLV iShares Silver Trust 174% $6.5B -3.80%
GLDM SPDR Gold Minishares Trust 162% $707.6M -0.90%

Crypto

Digital Asset ETFs posted total volume of $5.3B, or 94% of their 30-day average. The session was marked by heavy selling in Cryptocurrency – Ethereum (finishing the day down 3.25%) and Cryptocurrency – Bitcoin (closing -1.59%). Despite the lack of category-level outliers, the broad pullback across all major crypto assets indicates a cooling of recent speculative momentum.

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.

Currencies

Currency ETFs traded a total of $61.9M today, representing 82% of their 30-day average. The Currency category (finishing the day down 0.06%) showed subdued turnover compared to other asset classes, reflecting a relatively quiet session for foreign exchange markets.

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.

Alternatives

Alternative ETFs saw total volume of $733.1M, trading at 91% of their 30-day average. The session saw moderate interest in Volatility – Short strategies (finishing the day down 0.80%), while broader alternative strategies remained below their recent activity averages.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Alternative: Volatility – Short 124% $135.1M -0.80%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

No high-activity ticker outliers for this asset class.

Non-Traditional

Non-Traditional ETFs reported total volume of $34.0B, at 115% of their 30-day average. The surge was primarily driven by Leverage | Inverse – Commodity (finishing the day up 0.18%) and Buffer – Equity (closing -0.09%). Intense activity in DGP (closing -1.42%) and DFEN (closing -6.48%) highlighted active speculation and hedging within sector-specific leveraged vehicles.

High-Volume Categories (>$100M Traded)

Category Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1-Day Return
Non-Traditional: Leverage | Inverse – Commodity 152% $2.6B +0.18%
Non-Traditional: Buffer – Equity 180% $568.7M -0.09%
Non-Traditional: Synthetic Income – Equity 139% $2.0B -0.36%
Non-Traditional: Leverage | Inverse – Fixed Income 157% $367.3M -0.13%

High-Activity Ticker Outliers

Ticker Name Activity vs ADV $ Volume 1D Return
DGP DB Gold Double Long Exchange Traded Notes 715% $21.2M -1.42%
DFEN Direxion Daily Aerospace & Defense Bull 3X Shares 401% $41.0M -6.48%
LABU Direxion Daily S&P Biotech Bull 3X Shares 367% $307.3M +7.73%
OMAH VistaShares Target 15 Berkshire Select Income ETF 341% $31.0M -1.03%
NJAN Innovator Growth-100 Power Buffer ETF – January 322% $8.3M -0.09%

Multi-Asset

Multi-Asset ETFs saw $213.9M in total volume, trading at 121% of their 30-day average. Turnover was concentrated in Specialty – Alternative Asset Sleeve (finishing the day down 0.99%) and Target Risk – Global Macro (closing -0.37%). High-activity tickers like NTSX (closing -0.23%) and ALLW (closing -0.16%) reflected a trend toward complex risk management and diversification.

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
NTSX WisdomTree U.S. Efficient Core Fund 380% $13.9M -0.23%
ALLW SPDR Bridgewater All Weather ETF 184% $15.3M -0.16%

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.