Small Cap and High Quality: 2 ETFs to Watch on Outsized Volume

In the last trading session, the U.S. stocks posted their worst five-day start to the year in history as fresh signs of a slowdown in China and the relentless slide in crude led to fears of a global slowdown. Among the top ETFs, investors saw (SPY - ETF report) and (DIA - ETF report) lose 1.1%, while (QQQ - ETF report) move lower by 0.8% 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 ones to watch out for in the days ahead to see if this trend of extra-interest continues:

(DWAS - ETF report): Volume 8.59 times average

This small cap ETF was in focus in Friday’s trading session as about 680,000 shares moved hands compared with an average of roughly 89,000 shares. We also saw some price movement as DWAS lost nearly 1.9% in the last session.

The movement can largely be blamed on heightened market uncertainty that has eroded investors’ confidence and can have a big impact on small cap stocks like what we find in this ETF portfolio. For the past one-month period, DWAS was down nearly 11.3%.

(SPHQ - ETF report): Volume 3.81 times average

This high quality ETF was under the microscope on Friday as more than 645,000 shares moved hands. This compares with an average trading day of around 175,000 shares and came as SPHQ shed 1.4% in the session.

The big move was largely the result of investors flocking to high quality stocks that seek safety and protection against volatility in turbulent times. SPHQ was down 4.6% in the past one month and currently has a Zacks ETF Rank of 43 or ‘Hold’ rating with a Medium risk outlook.