Japanese ETFs pulled in a net $16B this week. That is the single biggest geographic flow by a wide margin. The move dwarfs the 3-month trend, where Japan ranked third behind US and Global funds. Investors are rotating into Japan aggressively and fast.
Japan's 1-week flow imbalance hit 87.4. That signals heavy buying pressure with very little selling. Over 3 months, Japan gathered $75.6B net — still large, but this week's $16B suggests the pace is accelerating.
China attracted $4.5B in the week. Flow imbalance sat at 65.3, meaning buying still outweighs selling. Over 3 months, China pulled in $35.4B. Momentum there remains intact.
South Korea is the notable reversal. It posted a $993M outflow this week with a flow imbalance of just 38.7 — clear selling pressure. Yet over 3 months, it attracted $38B in net inflows. That 3m-to-1w flip warrants attention.
Developed Markets Ex-US drew $2.1B this week, with an imbalance of 88.8. Developed Europe added $1.1B. Latin America and France were small outflows.
Tech suffered the biggest sector outflow this week. Information Technology lost $4.8B in net flows, with a flow imbalance of just 38.8. Yet over 3 months, Tech was the top sector by far, drawing $51.7B net. This week's reversal is sharp and stands out.
Financials shed $1.9B this week. Health Care lost $1B. Communication Services dropped $648M. All three had positive 3-month flows, making the weekly turn notable.
Materials was the standout gainer this week at +$474M. Industrials and Utilities also posted small positive flows. Over 3 months, Industrials drew $5.4B and Health Care $5.5B. Energy was the 3-month loser at -$5.8B, and that weakness persisted into the week at -$106M.
The pattern is clear: defensives and cyclicals are drawing money. Growth sectors are giving it back.
Equities remained the dominant asset class at $38.6B net this week. Fixed Income added $11.3B, with a flow imbalance of 63.6. Both are consistent with 3-month trends.
The big shift is in commodities. Over 3 months, commodities saw $16.9B in net outflows. This week, they pulled in $8B net with an imbalance of 89.6. That is a sharp reversal. Currency ETFs also posted $2.7B in inflows this week. Over 3 months they showed net outflows of $2.2B — another trend flip.
On strategy, active ETFs gathered $11.2B this week with a strong imbalance of 76.2. Over 3 months, active strategies drew $221.9B — the second largest total after vanilla passive. Growth strategies drew $1.3B this week. Value shed $722M. Dividend ETFs added $698M with an imbalance of 79.4, consistent with the defensive lean.
The overall tone is risk-on but selective. Capital is moving into Japan, commodities, and active strategies while rotating away from US Tech and growth-heavy sectors.
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.
