The standout story this week is a sharp reversal in Technology. Information Technology ETFs bled $3.3B in net outflows over the past seven days. That flips the three-month picture entirely — over 90 days, Tech attracted $73.9B, the single biggest sector inflow of any category. Short-term sellers are taking profits on a trade that worked well all quarter.
The US remains the dominant magnet. American-focused ETFs pulled in $13.9B net this week. That follows a massive $363B net over three months — the largest geographic flow by a wide margin.
Japan is the second biggest winner in both timeframes. It drew $6.4B this week and $140B over three months. Flow imbalance sits at 63.5, signalling sustained buying pressure rather than a one-off spike.
China is the week's biggest loser. ETFs targeting Chinese equities shed $9.8B in net outflows, with a flow imbalance of just 20.9 — deep selling territory. Over three months, China had actually attracted $20.9B net. That reversal is sharp and worth watching. Hong Kong tells a similar story: $532M outflow this week, $10.1B outflow over three months.
Global Ex-US funds show near-perfect buying pressure this week, with a flow imbalance of 97.7 — almost all money moving in one direction. Developed Markets Ex-US also sits at 84.5. Money is rotating into international developed-market exposure away from US concentration.
Materials is the sector surprise of the week. It attracted $2.1B in net inflows, with a flow imbalance of 86.6 — strong buying pressure. Over three months, Materials flows were modest at $2.1B. This week's move looks like a fresh rotation rather than momentum-chasing.
Industrials added $901M this week, consistent with its $3.8B three-month trend. Buying is steady rather than explosive.
Energy shed $476M this week. That continues a three-month pattern of $6.9B in outflows — the worst-performing sector over the full period. Financials also posted a small weekly outflow of $185M despite attracting $4.2B over three months.
Consumer Discretionary, Real Estate, and Health Care all posted modest positive flows this week, suggesting broad but shallow buying across cyclical and defensive names.
Every major asset class attracted inflows this week. Equities led at $24.1B net. Fixed Income added $16.9B — a flow imbalance of 68.9 shows consistent demand for bonds. Commodities drew $4.5B this week, a sharp swing from the three-month trend of $29B in outflows. Buyers are returning to gold and metals.
On strategy, Active ETFs pulled in $9.3B this week. Over three months they attracted $223.8B net, second only to Vanilla passive. The shift toward active management is a sustained three-month trend, not a weekly blip.
Vanilla passive posted a negative $73.3B this week despite $404.8B in three-month inflows. Short-term profit-taking in broad index funds is driving the gap.
Overall, the tone is cautiously risk-on. Investors are diversifying away from US Tech and passive mega-caps, rotating into international equities, Materials, and Active strategies, while keeping fixed income demand steady as a hedge.
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.
