US equities dominated the week. American-focused ETFs pulled in $41.2B net over the past seven days. That alone eclipsed every other geography combined. The flow imbalance reading of 65 signals genuine buying pressure, not just gross turnover.
The most striking divergence sits in Japan. Over three months, Japanese ETFs attracted $16.9B net. Last week, they shed $4.0B, the sharpest geographic outflow of the period. The reversal is clean and notable. Investors who rotated into Japan during the summer now appear to be trimming.
China tells a different short-term story. Three-month net inflows were large at $48.2B, but last week the country slipped to a small net outflow of $512M with a flow imbalance of just 46. Gross flows remain heavy on both sides, suggesting indecision rather than conviction. Taiwan, by contrast, held up. It attracted $163M net on the week and $15.5B over three months. That ongoing interest aligns with a striking data point from ORTEX Alt Data: Taiwan's total export orders hit a record $103.0B in August 2026, nearly double the prior-year figure, with semiconductor and electronics products driving the bulk of the gain.
Canada drew $2.2B net last week, with a flow imbalance of 92. That is near-universal buying pressure. Canada's macro backdrop supports the interest: ORTEX Alt Data shows Canadian employment and labour force both hit their largest August readings since records began in 1976, and business loans reached CAD 3.16tn in July, the highest July figure on record. Developed Europe added $649M on the week after $9.5B over three months, a steady rather than accelerating trend. Spain and Italy were small but consistent recipients of inflows in both windows.
Industrials was the biggest sector loser last week, shedding $2.4B with a flow imbalance of just 16. That is the most one-sided selling in the entire dataset. Over three months, the same sector was barely positive at $208M. The selling has not just begun; it has deepened.
Real Estate led sector inflows at $913M for the week. Energy added $548M and Consumer Discretionary $543M. Information Technology attracted $501M net but on enormous two-way volume: $5.0B in, $4.5B out. Over three months, IT was the top sector by a wide margin at $19.7B net. The weekly number looks pale against that trend, hinting that tech momentum is fading at the margin.
Both equity and fixed income attracted strong flows last week. Equities brought in $62.0B net. Fixed income added $17.2B, with a flow imbalance of 67. Alternatives saw $2.9B net outflows. Commodities slipped into negative territory last week at minus $275M, a reversal from the three-month positive of $25.8B.
Active strategies continued to gain ground. Last week brought $16.9B net into active ETFs, with a flow imbalance of 83. Over three months that figure was $121.8B, making active the second-largest strategy bucket behind vanilla passive. Momentum strategies bled $5.3B last week. That compares to a three-month net outflow of $3.3B, meaning the selling has accelerated sharply. Dividend and fundamental strategies both drew positive flows over both windows, reflecting a tilt toward quality and income over price momentum.
The overall tone is risk-on but selective. Investors are buying the US, fixed income, active management and yield-paying strategies while moving away from momentum, Japan and Industrials.
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.
