Back to top

Image: Bigstock

Treasury and Utilities: 2 ETFs to Watch on Outsized Volume

Read MoreHide Full Article

In the last trading session, U.S. stocks ended lower as Trump abandoned the healthcare bill after it failed to garner enough votes form the congressional Republicans. Among the top ETFs, investors saw (SPY - Free Report) lose 0.06%, and (DIA - Free Report) shed 0.3% but (QQQ - Free Report) move higher by 0.2% on the day.

Two more specialized ETFs are worth noting as both saw trading volume that was far outside of normal. In fact, both these funds experienced volume levels that were more than double their average for the most recent trading session. This could make these ETFs the ones to watch out for in the days ahead to see if this trend of extra-interest continues:

(ZROZ - Free Report) : Volume 4.11 times average

This long-term Treasury ETF was in the spotlight on Friday as nearly 134,000 shares moved hands compared with an average of roughly 34,000 shares a day. We also saw some price movement as ZROZ added nearly 0.7% last session.

The movement can largely be blamed on investors’ flight to safety given fizzling Trump trade and growing U.S. policy uncertainty. ZROZ was down 0.8% in the past one month and has a Zacks ETF Rank of 5 or ‘Strong Sell’ rating with a High risk outlook.

(FXU - Free Report) : Volume 3.62 times average

This utility ETF was under the microscope on Friday as nearly 766,000 shares moved hands. This compares with an average trading day of more than 364,000 shares and came as FXU gained about 0.6% in the trading session.

The big move was largely the result of increasing demand for defensive assets that can have a big impact on the utility stocks like what we find in this ETF portfolio. FXU lost 1.5% in the past one month and has a Zacks ETF Rank of 4 or ‘Sell’ rating with a Medium risk outlook.

Want key ETF info delivered straight to your inbox?

Zacks’ free Fund Newsletter will brief you on top news and analysis, as well as top-performing ETFs, each week. Get it free >>

Published in