Bear ETFs ZSL and JDST continue to post gains, indicating ongoing pressure on silver and junior miners

Spot silver is trading at US$73.98 and gold is also down at US$4,497.10

Following the May 15 surge highlighted in the original InvestorIdeas article – where ZSL (ProShares UltraShort Silver) rose ~15.8% and JDST (Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bear 2X) climbed ~13.2% amid sharp declines in silver and junior mining equities – these inverse leveraged products have seen additional strength today.

ProShare UltraShort Silver (NYSE:ZSL) today again joined the NYSE top gainer list, trading at 20.98 +1.69 (+8.79%).

Direxion Daily Junior Gold Miners Index Bear 2X Shares (NYSE:JDST) is trading at 37.75 +3.33 (+9.67%).

JDST showed even stronger momentum, consistent with further declines in the underlying Junior Gold/Silver Miner Index.

These moves extend the profit-taking and risk-off sentiment noted in the original article, where silver had already pulled back from the high $80s (or briefly higher) towards the $76-$80 area.

Key factors for continued growth in ZSL and JDST

ZSL seeks -2x daily exposure to silver futures, while JDST targets -2x daily exposure to the MVIS Global Junior Gold Miners Index (closely linked to GDXJ performance). Their gains directly reflect the weakness in the underlying assets.

Junior Miners Underperform: The MVIS Global Junior Gold Miners Index (and GDXJ) saw further selling, with junior miners driving the metal’s move due to high operating leverage, low liquidity and sensitivity to equity risk sentiment. GDXJ traded down ~0.8% or more in recent sessions. (finance.yahoo.com)

Macro headwinds: strong US data, deleveraging after crowded long positions in the metals rally, and profit-booking after triple-digit gains in many juniors over the past 12-18 months.

Such leveraged inverse ETFs are built only for daily results—compounding and volatility decay make them unsuitable for holding over the long term, especially in volatile or range-bound markets.

Short-term implications for mining stocks Near-term pressure on juniors remains: Expect continued volatility and potential downside in silver/gold junior miners (e.g., in the GDXJ universe) if metals remain under pressure. Juniors often exceed the metal’s downside by 1.5-3x or more due to their beta and project-specific risks. Profit taking and lower speculative flows could impact small-cap names with less liquidity.

Buying opportunity for bulls? Long-term fundamentals remain constructive for silver (structural supply deficit, industrial demand from green energy/solar/EVs) and gold (safe-haven, central bank buying). This pullback could provide entry/add-on points for patient investors with multi-month horizons and strong risk management—but short-term sentiment favors caution.

Watch Key Levels: Silver remains above key support (~$70-$75 area) vs further USD strength; The junior index rebound is tied to any Fed pivot signals or easing macro data.

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