ETF Daily | ZSL Surges 24%; SQQQ Jumps 6%; APPX Sinks 40%; Safety Bid Lifts Inverse and Volatility ETFs

Market Overview

U.S. equities retreated meaningfully, with the S&P 500 declining 1.57%, the Nasdaq Composite falling 2.03%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average lower by 1.34%, each registering a move larger than 1%. Across ETFs, inverse equity products and commodity shorts outperformed while long precious metals, energy, and cyclical industry funds trailed; Treasury bond ETFs advanced and volatility-linked funds climbed, reflecting a risk-off bias and a tilt toward duration.

Top 5 US ETF Gainers

ProShares UltraShort Silver (ZSL) gained 24.19%, reflecting its mandate to deliver twice the inverse of daily silver price moves; a sharp slump in silver exposures, as indicated by the iShares Silver Trust (SLV) falling 11.53%, amplified ZSL’s daily return through its -2x structure.

MicroSectors Gold Miners -3x Inverse Leveraged ETN (GDXD) climbed 22.23%, consistent with its objective to deliver three times the inverse of the daily performance of a gold miners index; the miner cohort, captured by funds such as VanEck Gold Miners ETF (GDX) at -7.26% and VanEck Junior Gold Miners ETF (GDXJ) at -8.73%, provided directional ballast for GDXD’s triple inverse profile.

Tradr 2X Short BE Daily ETF (BEZ) advanced 21.27% as it targets twice the inverse of the daily return of Bloom Energy shares; the fund’s construction magnifies single-day weakness in the underlying stock to produce a leveraged daily inverse outcome.

Tradr 2X Short SMR Daily ETF (SMZ) added 20.75%, in line with its aim to deliver double the inverse of NuScale Power’s daily performance; the ETF’s structure magnifies single-day declines in SMR’s share price into a leveraged, opposite-day move.

Defiance Daily Target 2X Short ASTS ETF (ASTN) rose 18.03%, reflecting its mandate to produce twice the inverse of AST SpaceMobile’s daily return; with short exposure to a single underlying, the fund’s daily outcome is mechanically tied to the opposite of ASTS’s one-session move.

Top 5 US ETF Losers

Tradr 2X Long APP Daily ETF (APPX) fell 39.80%, consistent with its design to deliver twice the daily return of AppLovin; the underlying stock’s decline of 19.68% translated into an amplified daily loss for the leveraged long vehicle.

Tradr 2X Long ASTS Daily ETF (ASTX) declined 30.42%, reflecting its 2x long exposure to AST SpaceMobile; the product’s daily leverage magnified the adverse one-session move in the underlying shares.

Leverage Shares 2X Long USAR Daily ETF (USGG) shed 25.91% as its structure targets twice the daily gain of USAR shares; weakness in the single-stock exposure translated directly into an outsized one-day loss for the leveraged long ETF.

Direxion Daily CSCO Bull 2X ETF (CSCL) decreased 25.41%, aligning with its objective to provide twice the daily performance of Cisco Systems; a notable move in the underlying stock, when levered 2x, drove the ETF’s steep daily decline.

T-REX 2x Long RDW Daily Target ETF (RDWU) retreated 24.80%, in line with its 2x long mandate on Redwire; the ETF’s daily leveraged exposure magnified the session’s adverse move in RDW’s share price.

Top 5 Equity Index ETFs

Direxion Daily FTSE China Bear 3X Shares (YANG) gained 6.36%, reflecting its -3x daily exposure to a large-cap China equity index; the fund’s triple inverse design translates declines in FTSE China constituents into amplified positive daily returns for holders of the inverse.

Direxion Daily Small Cap Bear 3X Shares (TZA) advanced 6.18% in keeping with its -3x mandate on the Russell 2000; the session’s small-cap weakness was converted into a triple-leveraged positive daily move for the inverse fund.

ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ (SQQQ) rose 6.13% as it targets -3x of the Nasdaq-100’s daily performance; the day’s technology-led weakness lifted the triple inverse exposure, producing a commensurate gain.

ProShares UltraPro Short S&P500 ETF (SPXU) increased 4.70%, consistent with its -3x daily sensitivity to the S&P 500; broad-based large-cap softness fed directly into a triple inverse daily move for the fund.

ProShares UltraShort Russell 2000 (TWM) added 4.13% via its -2x daily exposure to small caps; the product’s leveraged inverse construction magnifies one-day Russell 2000 declines into positive returns.

Top 5 Commodity ETFs

ProShares UltraShort Silver (ZSL) surged 24.19% on its -2x daily exposure to silver; as unlevered silver proxies such as iShares Silver Trust (SLV) retreated 11.53%, ZSL’s structure transformed that move into a larger inverse daily return.

Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bear 2X Shares (DUST) climbed 14.38%, echoing its -2x daily sensitivity to gold miner equities; with mining shares under pressure, the fund’s double inverse profile produced a sizeable one-session gain.

ProShares UltraShort Gold (GLL) gained 7.05% through its -2x daily exposure to gold bullion prices; the fund’s leveraged inverse construction aims to benefit from intraday softness in gold.

ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Crude Oil (SCO) advanced 5.94%, levering a -2x daily exposure to front-month crude benchmarks; the product’s design converts single-day oil price declines into amplified inverse returns.

PROSHARES ULTRASHORT ENERGY (DUG) rose 3.78% on its -2x daily exposure to U.S. energy equities; the fund’s structure magnifies sector weakness across oil and gas producers and related constituents.

Top 5 Industry ETFs

Direxion Daily Financial Bear 3x Shares (FAZ) gained 6.13% as its -3x daily exposure to U.S. financials turned sector losses into amplified inverse returns; the product targets banks, insurers, and diversified financials in its levered inverse construction.

ProShares UltraShort Financials (SKF) added 4.05%, consistent with its -2x daily exposure to the financial sector; the fund’s design magnifies single-session declines in financial stocks into larger inverse moves.

Direxion Daily Energy Bear 2x Shares (ERY) increased 3.61% via its -2x daily sensitivity to energy equities; the bear construction captures one-day weakness across integrated oils, exploration and production, and services.

PROSHARES ULTRASHORT MATERIALS (SMN) advanced 3.15% as it aims for -2x daily performance of the U.S. materials sector; soft price action across chemicals, metals, and paper boosted the inverse sleeve.

Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLU) rose 1.48% as its unlevered exposure to utilities benefited from a defensive bias and a supportive move in duration-sensitive, yield-oriented sectors.

Top 5 Bond ETFs

iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT) gained 1.33% as its long-duration U.S. Treasury exposure benefited from a bid for safety; the fund’s sensitivity to longer-term yields translated easing rates into price appreciation.

SPDR Portfolio Long Term Treasury ETF (SPTL) advanced 1.20%, echoing the day’s firmness in the long end of the curve; with duration elevated, the portfolio converted lower yields into positive total return.

Vanguard Long-Term Corporate Bond ETF (VCLT) increased 0.75%, reflecting longer-dated, investment-grade corporate exposure; spread moves and duration gains combined to lift the fund’s net asset value.

SPDR Portfolio Long Term Corporate Bond ETF (SPLB) rose 0.66% with a similar long-duration, high-quality corporate profile; a softer rate backdrop aided price levels across the sleeve’s holdings.

Vanguard Mortgage-Backed Securities ETF (VMBS) added 0.61%, as agency MBS benefited from supportive rate dynamics; the index-tracking portfolio captured the day’s incremental price improvement across mortgage pass-throughs.

Conclusion

The ETF tape conveyed a clear risk-off rotation, with inverse equity and commodity exposures leading gains, long volatility proxies firming, and rate-sensitive Treasury funds advancing. Leveraged bearish index products such as ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ (SQQQ) and Direxion Daily Small Cap Bear 3X Shares (TZA) benefited from broad U.S. equity weakness, while commodity shorts including ProShares UltraShort Silver (ZSL) and Direxion Daily Gold Miners Index Bear 2X Shares (DUST) reflected pressure across precious metals and miners. At the same time, long-side, single-stock leveraged funds tied to growth and cyclicals—including Tradr 2X Long APP Daily ETF (APPX), Tradr 2X Long ASTS Daily ETF (ASTX), and Direxion Daily CSCO Bull 2X ETF (CSCL)—registered outsized declines consistent with their mandates. The day’s leadership—defensive utilities (XLU), long-duration bonds (TLT), and inverse beta—underscored a preference for ballast and hedges, while laggards clustered in high beta and commodity long sleeves, signaling a tactical de-risking across the U.S. ETF landscape.