While the SOXX fell over 20% in the last month, chip ETF trading volume quadrupled since January 2025. Semiconductor ETFs are changing hands at unprecedented rates despite a steep short-term drop in market prices, creating a striking contrast between falling ETF prices and record trading activity across the technology sector.
Record-Breaking Volume Surge
This phenomenon of diverging market signals between volume and price underscores how heavy trading activity persists even during sharp sector pullbacks.
According to market commentary from The Kobeissi Letter, “Semiconductor ETFs are crushing every record” as daily trading volume for U.S. semiconductor ETFs has surged to $50 billion per day.
This metric has “more than quadrupled since January 2025,” representing an extraordinary expansion compared to 2021 and 2022 when daily trading volume “never exceeded $10 billion.”
At its peak in June, daily trading volume reached a record high of $75 billion, lifting the 20-day moving average to $38 billion per day—near the highest level on record.
Market commentators noted that combined unlevered and levered funds traded at just $4 billion daily 3.5 years ago, calling another recent $50 billion day clear evidence of “emotional behavior.” As a result, semiconductor ETFs have established themselves as “one of the market’s strongest drivers.”
Short-Term Pullbacks vs. Multi-month Rally
This historic surge in trading volume arrives amidst significant short-term price pullbacks among major chip funds. Over the past month, the iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SOXX) fell 21.26%, while the VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ:SMH) dropped 17.84%.
Leveraged products experienced even sharper moves, as the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares (NYSE:SOXL) plunged 56.99% in one month, while the Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares (NYSE:SOXS) jumped 66.42%.
Despite the recent monthly downturn, broader performance metrics remain robust.
| Semiconductor ETFs | One-Month Performance | YTD Performance | One-Year Performance |
| iShares Semiconductor ETF | -21.26% | 65.46% | 103.48% |
| VanEck Semiconductor ETF | -17.84% | 48.33% | 81.90% |
| Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares | -56.99% | 172.95% | 315.50% |
| Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares | 66.42% | -99.43% | -99.75% |
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Shutterstock
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