These are the best ETFs for day trading based on volume, volatility, and other metrics. Since not all traders are interested in the same thing (such as high volatility), I have created four different lists to suit different types of traders.
- Highest volume (unleveraged)
- Most Volatile (leveraged)
- Most Volatile (unleveraged)
- Best ETFs for cash accounts (if you can’t short)
All ETFs on these lists trade at least 10 million shares per day, on average.
The Best ETFs for Day Trading were updated on September 11, 2024. The list is updated monthly.
Here is a summary list of the Best Day Trading ETFs as of September 11. See the full statistics below.
| Highest Volume (unleveraged) | SPY | QQQ | TLT & HYG | XLF | FXI |
| Most Volatile (leveraged) | UVXY | NVDL | SOXL/SOXS | TSLL | TECS |
| Most Volatile (unleveraged) | IBIT | KRE | GDX | SLV | QQQ |
| Best ETFs for cash accounts | SPY/SH | QQQ/PSQ | TQQQ/SQQQ |
Best Day Trading ETFs – Highest Volume (Unleveraged)
High volume means you can enter and exit quickly with minimal slippage. The ETFs on this list are for day traders seeking moderate daily price movement with huge volume so you can take small or large position sizes. These are the highest volume unleveraged ETFs. The list is ordered by volume, but you’ll see that each ETF moves a different amount each day. So you can opt to trade the ones that match your desired volume and movement preference.
Highest volume ETFs (unleveraged) as of September 11, 2024
| SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) – The daily average (30) volume is 56 million and the average (30) daily movement in percentage terms is 1.4%. Average daily movement is based on the Intraday Range, which is the average price movement between the high and low of the day (doesn’t include any overnight price gaps). This ETF tracks the S&P 500 index (the largest US companies) which makes it quite stable compared to individual stocks and is widely used by both day traders and investors. |
| Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) – The daily average (30) volume is 41 million and the average (30) daily movement is 2%. This ETF tracks the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. It is mainly composed of technology-related stocks. |
| iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) – The daily average (30) volume is 40 million and the average (30) daily movement is 0.93%. This ETF tracks US treasury bonds with 20 years or more to maturity. iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond Fund (HYG) is another bond fund, averaging 39 million daily volume and typical movement of 0.37% per day. |
| Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) – The daily average (30) volume is 38 million and the average (30) daily movement is 137%. This ETF tracks a wide range of stocks in the financial sector. |
| iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI) – The daily average (30) volume is 31 million and the average (30) daily movement is 1.15%. This ETF tracks the largest 50 compaies in China. |
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Best Day Trading ETFs – Most Daily Movement (Leveraged)
This category is for traders looking for ETFs with the most daily movement. Large daily movement has the potential to create larger profits, especially since these ETFs also have extremely high volume.
Most volatile ETFs (leveraged) with lots of volume as of September 11, 2024
| Proshares Trust Ultra VIX Short-Term Futures ETF (UVXY) – The daily average (30) volume is 15 million and the average (30) daily movement is 13.5%. This ETF moves 1.5x as much as as the VIX futures index. Generally the VIX moves somewhat inversely to the S&P 500 direction. |
| GraniteShares 2x Long NVDA Daily ETF (NVDL) – The daily average (30) volume is 28 million and the average (30) daily movement is 11.4%. This ETF moves twice as much as Nvidia (NVDA) stock on a daily basis. If NVDA rises 1%, NVDL will rise 2%. Trading NVDQ is an alternative. It moves twice as much but in the opposite direction as Nvidia stock. Average volume is 17 million with similar daily movement to NVDL. |
| Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3x Shares (SOXL) – The daily average (30) volume is 113 million and the average (30) daily movement is 11.41%. This ETF tracks a portfolio of semiconductor stocks, and moves are multiplied by three making it one of the largest daily movement ETFs available. Trading SOXS is an alternative (66 million), it moves as much but in the opposite direction as SOXL. |
| Direxion Daily TSLA Bull 2X Shares (TSLL) – The daily average (30) volume is 44 million and the average (30) daily movement is 9.88%. This ETF moves twice as much as Tesla (TSLA) stock on a daily basis. If TSLA rises 1%, TSLL will rise 2%. |
| Direction Daily S&P Biotech Bear 3x Shares (TECS) – The daily average (30) volume is 18 million and the average (30) daily movement is 7.77%. This ETF moves three times as much as a basket of technology stocks, in the opposite direction. If technology stocks rise by 1%, TECS will fall by 3%. |
Best Day Trading ETFs – Most Daily Movement (Unleveraged)
This section is for day traders looking for high-volume ETFs that are unleveraged. That means the ETF tracks the performance of the stocks in its portfolio without any leveraging.
Most volatile ETFs (unleveraged) with lots of volume as of September 11, 2024
| iShares Bitcoin ETF ETF (IBIT) – The daily average (30) volume is 28 million and the average (30) daily movement is 4.15%. This ETF tracks the price movements of spot Bitcoin by owning/holding Bitcoin. |
| SPDR S&P Regional Banking ETF (KRE) – The daily average (30) volume is 14 million and the average (30) daily movement is 2.55%. This ETF tracks smaller local banking stocks throughout the US. |
| VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) – The daily average (30) volume is 17 million and the average (30) daily movement is 2.44%. This ETF tracks the stocks of companies engaged in the gold mining industry. |
| iShares Silver Trust (SLV) – The daily average (30) volume is 17 million and the average (30) daily movement is 2.04%. This ETF tracks the price movements of silver by owning silver. |
| Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) – The daily average (30) volume is 41 million and the average (30) daily movement is 2%. This ETF tracks the largest non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. It is mainly composed of technology-related stocks. |
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Best Day Trading ETFs for Cash Accounts (can’t short)
This section is for day traders using a cash account. With a cash account, you’re unable to short ETFs. Cash accounts are common in tax-protected accounts. While these types of accounts are often used for long-term investing, you can also day trade a cash account (and benefit from tax protection if applicable).
Since you can’t go short, you will need to pick a long and short ETF. If you believe an index will fall, for example, you buy the “short ETF”. If you believe the index will rise, you buy the “long ETF)
Best ETFs for day trading long and short in a cash account, updated May 13, 2024
| ETF Combination 1. Monitor SPY. If you believe it will go up, buy SPY. If you believe it will go down, buy SH as it will go up when SPY goes down. This combination allows you to potentially make money whether SPY rises or falls. SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) – The daily average (30) volume is 56 million and the average (30) daily movement is 1.4%. This ETF tracks the S&P 500 index (the largest US companies) which makes it quite stable compared to individual stocks and is widely used by both day traders and investors. ProShares Short S&P 500 ETF (SH) – The daily average (30) volume is 36 million and the average (30) daily movement is 1.4%. This ETF tracks the S&P 500 index but moves in the opposite direction as the S&P 500. |
| ETF Combination 2. Monitor QQQ. If you believe it will go up, buy QQQ. If you believe it will go down, buy PSQ as it will go up if QQQ goes down. This allows you to potentially make money whether QQQ rises or falls. QQQ has more daily movement than SPY. Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) – The daily average (30) volume is 41 million and the average (30) daily movement is 2%. This ETF tracks the largest companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange. It is mainly composed of technology-related stocks. ProShares Short QQQ (PSQ) – The daily average (30) volume is 5 million and the average (30) daily movement is 24%. This is ETF is doing less volume than it was before due to a reverse stock split in April. This ETF tracks the largest companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Exchange, but it moves in the opposite direction (inverse) as them. |
| ETF Combination 3. Monitor QQQ to make your trading decisions. Then trade TQQQ if you believe QQQ will go up, or SQQQ if you believe QQQ will go down. You could also monitor TQQQ and SQQQ directly. These are leveraged ETFs meaning they will move 3x as much as QQQ. Trade these if you want lots of daily movement and high volume. ProShares UltraPro QQQ (TQQQ) – The daily average (30) volume is 67 million and the average (30) daily movement is 6.05%. This ETF moves three times as much as the QQQ ETF. If QQQ rises by 1%, TQQQ will move up 3%. ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ (SQQQ) – The daily average (30) volume is 192 million and the average (30) daily movement is 6.16%. This ETF moves three times as much as the QQQ ETF, and moves in the opposite direction (if QQQ goes down 1%, SQQQ goes up 3%, for example). |
Day Trading ETF Alternatives
ETFs are a great choice for day trading because they are more insulated from price shocks than individual stocks. Most of the ETFs on this list are based on the price movement of hundreds of stocks; if one or even several stocks were to come out with surprise announcements, the effect is diluted and the ETF would continue to trade as normal. The individual stocks with the surprise announcements may see wild price swings, or even have their trading temporarily halted.
That said, while ETFs are more diversified than trading individual stocks, this can also dilute the daily average moves. The leveraged ETFs on this list may move 5% in a day, while the best day trading stocks may move 10% or even 15% per day.
ETFs and stocks are both viable for day trading. One isn’t better than another, it just depends on how you want to trade. Most day trading strategies for stocks can be used with ETFs and vice versa.
Happy Day Trading!
Cory Mitchell, CMT
Disclaimer: Nothing in this article is personal investment advice, or advice to buy or sell anything. Trading is risky and can result in substantial losses, even more than deposited if using leverage.
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