Top-Performing Leveraged ETFs of July

Wall Street delivered mixed results in July. The Dow posted a modest monthly gain, marking its fourth consecutive positive month, per CNBC. The S&P 500 ended little changed for July, while the Nasdaq recorded a notable monthly decline as investors rotated away from high-growth technology stocks amid rising bond yields. The tech-heavy Nasdaq-100 slumped 3.6% over the past month (as of July 31, 2026).

Rising Oil Prices Add to Inflation Worries

Energy markets remained under pressure after renewed geopolitical tensions disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Higher oil and gasoline prices have reignited concerns about inflation and consumer spending, even as the latest University of Michigan survey showed improving consumer sentiment. United States Brent Oil Fund LP BNO has jumped about 27.8% over the past one month (as of July 31, 2026).

Treasury Yields Surge on Fed Uncertainty

Treasury yields climbed sharply following the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates unchanged at its month-end meeting without offering clear forward guidance.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield closed the month at 4.75%, its highest level since January 2025 (per CNBC), while the 30-year Treasury yield climbed to 5.27%, the highest since 2007. Investors grew increasingly concerned that elevated borrowing costs could pressure equity valuations (read: Fed Holds Rates Steady, May Hike Ahead: ETFs in Focus).

Semiconductor Stocks Suffer Worst Month Since 2008

The semiconductor industry remained one of the market's weakest areas despite Friday's rebound, per the same CNBC source.

The VanEck Semiconductor ETF SMH remained down nearly 17% for July, putting the fund on track for its worst monthly performance since the 2008 financial crisis as investors reassessed AI-related valuations and the impact of higher interest rates.

AI Spending Keeps Tech Momentum Intact

Strong earnings from Amazon AMZN and Microsoft MSFT reassured investors that AI investment remains robust. Amazon jumped 15% on July 31 on strong cloud growth, while Microsoft extended gains after upbeat Azure results. MSFT and AMZN are up about 21% and 12.4% over the past one month (as of July 31, 2026).

Together with Meta (down 9.2% past month) and Alphabet (down 0.4% past month the hyperscalers now expect to spend $720 billion-$745 billion on capital projects in 2026, easing concerns over an AI spending slowdown, per CNBC.

Apple Lags Despite Strong Sales

Not all Big Tech names participated in the rally in July. Apple fell more than 7% as weaker Services and China revenue offset solid iPhone sales, while Meta also ended the month lower (read: ETFs to Watch as META Sinks Post Q2 Earnings Miss, Poor Cash Position).

Best-Performing Leveraged ETFs of July in Focus

Against this backdrop, below we highlight the top-performing leveraged ETFs of July.

Inverse SpaceX – Tradr 2X Short SpaceX Daily ETF SPCG – Up 108.8%

Space Exploration Technologies Corp SPCX has lost about 30% over the past month (as of July 31, 2026). On July 16, SpaceX's Starship rocket triggered a last-second abort before the liftoff of its 13th flight test from Texas, which weighed on the stock. The stock whipsawed last week, swinging from an all-time low to a sharp rebound before closing at a new low.

SpaceX stock has shed about 30% from its $150 market debut last month and remains down roughly 50% from its all-time high of $225.64, per Yahoo Finance. GraniteShares 2x Short SpaceX Daily ETF SNK, Leverage Shares 2X Short SPCX Daily ETF SSPC and Defiance Daily Target 2X Short SpaceX ETF SPCQ too lost about 100% each over the past month.

Inverse IONQ – Defiance Daily Target 2x Short IONQ ETF IONZ – Up 68.5%

IONQ Inc. IONQ has lost about 29.1% over the past month. Risk aversion toward high-growth technology stocks and IONQ's rich valuation weighed on the stock in July.

Leveraged PayPal – Direxion Daily PYPL Bull 2X ETF PYPU – Up 53.1%

PayPal PYPL surged about 25% over the past month over the acquisition news.  In mid-July, Stripe and private equity firm Advent International have jointly offered to acquire PayPal in a deal valued at more than $53 billion, according to Reuters, as quoted on Yahoo Finance. The proposal marks one of the biggest potential transactions in the digital payments industry in recent years (read: Stripe, Advent to Buy PayPal in a $53B Deal? ETFs in Focus).

Leveraged JD.Com – KraneShares 2x Long JD Daily ETF KJD – Up 50.4%

JD.Com Inc JD shares rose 24% over the past month. Chinese AI companies have benefited from the success of low-cost AI models lately, which has boosted sentiment across the Chinese technology sector. The country's Moonshot AI unveiled Kimi K3 on July 16, the largest open-source AI model released so far, per Fortune, as quoted on Yahoo Finance.   

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