Japan dominated ETF flows this week. It pulled in $10.9B net — the single biggest geographic inflow of the past seven days. That puts it well clear of every other region and marks a sharp acceleration from its already-strong $163B three-month total.
Emerging markets added $3.9B over the week. Flow imbalance hit 93.9, signalling near-unanimous buying pressure. Taiwan drew $3.6B and South Korea $3.7B. Both regions are sustaining multi-month momentum. China attracted $3.5B in net flows this week, though its flow imbalance of 59.2 shows the picture is more contested, with $7.8B in gross outflows running against heavier inflows.
The one notable reversal: Hong Kong posted a $1.1B outflow this week, with a flow imbalance of just 20.2 — deep selling pressure. Over three months it has shed $9.5B net. That trend is worsening, not stabilising.
US-focused ETFs remain the largest pool by AUM at $48T, but net inflows were just $352M this week — essentially flat. Over three months the US attracted $369B, still the biggest absolute number globally. The contrast with Asia's pace is striking. Developed Europe posted modest weekly inflows of $780M, but the three-month picture shows a $1.4B net outflow. The continent is leaking money steadily.
Information Technology leads sector inflows at $1.5B for the week. That said, its flow imbalance of 53.7 is the weakest among the major sectors — gross outflows of $9.6B nearly match inflows of $11.1B. Over three months, Tech drew $79.4B, dwarfing every other sector. Industrials added $435M this week and $2.95B over three months — consistent if unspectacular.
Energy is a clear trend reversal story. It gained $643M this week. Over three months, it bled $6.1B net. Weekly buyers are arriving, but the three-month outflow trend has not yet turned. Financials shed $828M this week despite being a three-month positive story ($3.7B). That one-week weakness is worth watching. Consumer Staples lost $278M this week — defensive rotation is not yet showing up.
Equity ETFs took in $38B net this week and $819B over three months. Both figures confirm this remains a firmly risk-on environment. Fixed Income added $19.7B this week and $242B over three months — investors are layering on duration alongside equities, not instead of them.
Commodities stood out negatively. Over three months they shed $30.9B net. This week they showed marginal inflows of $557M, barely a bounce. Active strategies had a strong week at $5.9B and are running at $225.8B over three months — the biggest three-month active inflow figure in the data. Price-weighted funds also drew $6.8B this week, suggesting selective concentration bets. Momentum strategies swung from three-month positive ($6.3B) to a $159M weekly outflow, a small but notable stall.
Overall, the tone is risk-on with a geographic twist: capital is chasing Asia at pace while Europe drains quietly and US flows hover near neutral.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
