US equities pulled in $7.2B in net inflows last week. Japan was right behind at $6.3B. These two markets dominated a broadly risk-on week for ETF flows.
China tells a different story. It bled $3.6B in net outflows over the past week. The flow imbalance score hit just 32.7 — deep selling territory. That is a sharp contrast to China's strong 3-month picture, where it attracted $34B net. Sentiment has reversed fast.
Japan stands out as the sharpest momentum trade. Its 1-week flow imbalance sits at 77.3, up from 59.0 over three months. Fresh money is accelerating into Japanese ETFs. Hong Kong added $3.3B on the week with a 78.8 imbalance — also strengthening.
South Korea reversed hard. Over three months it pulled in $41.1B net, one of the strongest regional performers. This week it recorded a $1.5B outflow with an imbalance of just 26.1. That is a significant short-term trend break. Taiwan followed a similar pattern — $23B inflows over 3 months, but a $475M outflow this week.
Emerging markets broadly held positive. The EM basket drew $1.5B on the week with a striking 94.0 imbalance. Global Ex-US funds were similarly lopsided at 89.3 — almost pure buying pressure.
Technology saw the biggest sector outflow of the week at $1.5B net negative. The flow imbalance was just 43.5 — clear selling pressure. Over three months, Tech still leads all sectors with $48.5B in net inflows. Investors are trimming a crowded winner.
Financials and Materials also bled cash this week. Financials lost $1.1B and Materials dropped $725M. Both were positive over 3 months.
Energy bucked the trend. It pulled in $477M this week with a 62.1 imbalance — the only major sector showing broad buying. Over 3 months, Energy was actually a $5.2B net loser. A genuine rotation signal is forming here.
Health Care, Real Estate, Communication Services, and Utilities all posted modest positive flows this week. Defensive and rate-sensitive sectors are picking up small bids.
Every asset class attracted net inflows last week. Equities led at $21.1B net. Fixed Income added $11.2B. Commodities pulled in a notable $4.7B with a 78.3 imbalance — the strongest buying pressure of any asset class.
Over 3 months, the commodity picture is flat by comparison at $3.4B net. Weekly commodity demand is running well above the quarterly pace. That is worth watching.
Active management continued its structural rise. Active ETFs drew $5B this week with a 68.6 imbalance. Over 3 months, Active has accumulated $202.8B — running at 58% of the pace of passive Vanilla flows despite a fraction of the AUM. Fundamental strategies also showed strong 88.3 imbalance this week.
Price-weighted strategies saw $1.4B in outflows this week, reversing their 3-month trend.
Overall, the tone is risk-on with selective rotation. Investors are adding to equities, bonds, and commodities simultaneously — while rotating within sectors from Tech toward Energy and defensives.
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.
