Edited by Peter Hillerberg2 min readStories are generated from ORTEX data and reviewed by the ORTEX team. How we publish
US equities dominated the past week. ETFs tracking American stocks pulled in $67.2B net, dwarfing every other geography. The flow imbalance hit 68.6, pointing to solid buying pressure rather than a close contest between bulls and bears.
South Korea was the standout international winner. It attracted $3.5B net in the week, with a flow imbalance of 83.1, indicating unusually one-sided buying. Brazil added $1.8B at an imbalance of 94.5, near the maximum. Both moves look tactical. Japan, by contrast, drew only $1.0B net despite $6.9B gross inflows, because $5.9B simultaneously left. Its imbalance sat at 53.9, barely above neutral. That tug-of-war matters: over three months Japan is actually in net outflow of $5.8B, so the weekly positive is fragile. ORTEX Alt Data adds context: Japanese machine tool orders jumped 65% year-on-year in August 2026, suggesting real industrial demand is rising even as ETF traders stay hesitant.
On the outflow side, Hong Kong lost $302M and Mexico shed $254M. Mexico has been bleeding for three months too, with a cumulative $819M outflow and a weak imbalance of 22, meaning sellers are overwhelming buyers consistently.
Industrials led all sectors with $2.1B of net inflows in the week, a flow imbalance of 77.5. Energy added $545M. Utilities brought in $451M. All three are traditionally defensive or capex-linked. That pattern fits the Japanese machine tool surge: global industrial spending appears to be accelerating.
The reversal in tech is the sharpest story. Over three months, Information Technology suffered the largest sector outflow of any group, losing $6.7B net. This week it recovered $1.3B, but the imbalance of 55.7 is barely positive. Financials swung hard the other direction: a $1.5B net outflow this week, imbalance at 30.3, suggesting active selling after three months of similar weakness at $4.4B out.
Communication Services lost $470M this week and $847M over three months. Sellers have been consistently dominant there.
Fixed income attracted $37.5B in the week, with a strong imbalance of 80.6. Over three months the total is $305B, placing bonds firmly alongside equities as a preferred destination. Commodities added $1.4B in the week and $31.5B over three months, with gold and energy-linked products likely driving the bulk.
The strategy picture holds the biggest signal. Active ETFs pulled in $79.0B this week alone, with an imbalance of 86.5. That is by far the strongest buying pressure of any strategy category. Over three months, active funds gathered $174B. Vanilla passive strategies still dominate by volume at $231B over three months, but their weekly imbalance is 52.5, barely above neutral. The gap between the two is narrowing fast in favour of active management.
Value ETFs are bleeding this week, losing $777M with an imbalance of 38.5. Over three months they were positive at $7.7B, so this week represents a sharp reversal. ESG shed $402M this week, also reversing a positive three-month trend of $13.2B inflows.
The overall tone is cautiously risk-on. Money is moving into US equities, industrials, fixed income and active strategies simultaneously, a mix that reflects both growth positioning and a degree of defensiveness rather than outright risk appetite.
ORTEX Market Intelligence content is generated by AI from a snapshot of ORTEX's proprietary data and reviewed by the ORTEX team. Content is informational only and does not constitute investment advice.
