The Best ETFs for Day Trading were updated on February 16, 2024. The list is updated monthly.
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.
Here is a summary list of the Best Day Trading ETFs as of February 16, 2024. See the full statistics below.
| Highest Volume (unleveraged) | SPY | FXI | TLT | XLF | QQQ |
| Most Volatile (leveraged) | LABD | BOIL | SOXS/SOXL | TZA/TNA | UVXY |
| Most Volatile (unleveraged) | UNG | VXX | BITO | ARKK | XBI |
| 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), updated February 16, 2024
| SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) – The daily average (30) volume is 74 million and the average (30) daily movement in percentage terms is 0.81%. 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. |
| iShares FTSE China Large Cap ETF (FXI) – The daily average (30) volume is 52 million and the average (30) daily movement is 1.46%. This ETF tracks the largest publically traded companies in China. |
| iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) – The daily average (30) volume is 48 million and the average (30) daily movement is 0.93%. This ETF tracks Treasury bonds with a maturity of longer than 20 years. |
| Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF) – The daily average (30) volume is 46 million and the average (30) daily movement is 1.02%. This ETF tracks a wide range of stocks in the financial sector. |
| Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) – The daily average (30) volume is 44 million and the average (30) daily movement is 1.12%. 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 – 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, updated February 16, 2024
| Direction Daily S&P Biotech Bear 3x Shares (LABD) – The daily average (30) volume is 14 million and the average (30) daily movement is 7.75%. This ETF moves three times as much as a basket of biotech stocks, in the opposite direction. If biotech stocks rise by 1%, LABD will fall by 3%. Trading LABU is an alternative. Due to a recent reverse stock split, volume is only 3 million on average. It moves as much as LABD but in the opposite direction. |
| ProShares Ultra Natural Gas (BOIL) – The daily average (30) volume is 12 million and the average (30) daily movement is 7.61%. This ETF moves two times as much as the daily movement of natural gas prices (via futures contracts). |
| Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3x Shares (SOXL) – The daily average (30) volume is 69 million and the average (30) daily movement is 6.27%. 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 (117 million), it moves as much but in the opposite direction as SOXL. |
| ProShares Ultra VIX Short Term Futures ETF (UVXY) – The daily average (30) volume is 27 million and the average (30) daily movement is 5.17%. This ETF moves 1.5x as much as the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index. VIX generally moves in the opposite direction as other major stock indices and is a measure of implied volatility of the S&P 500. |
| Direxion Small Cap Bull 3x Shares (TNA) – The daily average (30) volume is 26 million and the average (30) daily movement is 5.1%. This ETF moves three times as much as the Russell 2000 index (an index that tracks small-cap stocks). Trading TZA is an alternative (21 million). It moves as much as TNA, but in the opposite direction. |
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, updated February 16, 2024
| United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) – The daily average (30) volume is 21 million and the average (30) daily movement is 4.6%. This ETF tracks the daily price movements of natural gas. |
| iPath Series B S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX) – The daily average (30) volume is 11 million and the average (30) daily movement is 3.45%. This tracks the S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures Index. VIX generally moves in the opposite direction as other major stock indices and is a measure of implied volatility of the S&P 500. |
| ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) – The daily average (30) volume is 22 million and the average (30) daily movement is 3.17%. This ETF tracks the price of Bitcoin by owning Bitcoin futures. |
| ARK Innovation ETF (ARKK) – The daily average (30) volume is 17 million and the average (30) daily movement is 3.03%. This ETF tracks innovative companies and is discretionarily managed. That means it doesn’t track a set index, but rather the manager of the fund can buy or sell stocks when they choose. To me, this is an added element of risk that makes this ETF less ideal for day trading than the other choices. |
| SPDR S&P 500 Biotech ETF (XBI) – The daily average (30) volume is 11 million and the average (30) daily movement is 2.56%. This ETF tracks US biotechnology 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 February 16, 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 allows you to potentially make money whether SPY rises or falls. SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) – The daily average (30) volume is 74 million and the average (30) daily movement is 0.81%. 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 22 million and the average (30) daily movement is 0.82%. 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 44 million and the average (30) daily movement is 1.11%. 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 19 million and the average (30) daily movement is 1.17%. 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 73 million and the average (30) daily movement is 3.32%. 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 127 million and the average (30) daily movement is 3.42%. 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.
