Asia and Tech Pull Capital; Bonds Draw Steady Bids

The week's clearest signal: money is moving into Asia at pace, with tech stocks drawing fresh demand, while Europe and financials sit in outflow territory. The broader tone is risk-on, though fixed income continues to attract meaningful flows alongside equities.

Geography Flows

The US remains the single largest destination by volume. It pulled $25.7B in net ETF inflows over the past week, with a flow imbalance of 67, indicating buying pressure is comfortably dominant. Over three months, US net flows stand at $287.6B, confirming that domestic appetite has not faded.

Asia is the standout story at the margin. South Korea drew $9.7B in net inflows this week, with a flow imbalance of 84. Taiwan added $5.3B, nearly all of it inflow with barely any offsetting outflow. China took in $10.4B, with an imbalance of 77. All three sit above their three-month run rates on a relative basis, suggesting the Asia bid has accelerated in recent sessions rather than faded. ORTEX Alt Data shows UK battery-electric car registrations rose 40% year-on-year in Q2 2026, a record quarter. That same consumer spending and EV cycle is relevant context for Asia-Pacific manufacturing flows.

Europe is running the other way. Developed Europe posted a net outflow of $815M this week, with a flow imbalance of 36. Over three months, Europe was still attracting $7.6B in net inflows, so this week's reversal is a clean trend break worth watching. Singapore and Spain also printed notable outflows.

Japan sits in negative territory over three months, with net outflows of $8.1B, though this week it attracted $1.4B. The weekly recovery may reflect yen moves rather than a structural shift.

Sector Rotation

Information Technology dominated sector flows by a wide margin. It took in $11.6B this week, with a flow imbalance of 79. That contrasts sharply with the three-month picture, where IT's net flow was only $7.7B over the full period. The pace of tech buying has jumped sharply in the last week.

Financials is the clearest loser. It shed $2.1B this week, with a flow imbalance of just 20. Over three months, Financials has bled $8.8B, making it the single biggest net sector outflow in the period. That three-month trend is deepening, not reversing.

Industrials saw $500M in outflows this week, though the three-month reading is roughly flat at -$394M. Real Estate and Utilities also faced selling pressure this week after attracting inflows over three months. Energy held up, taking in $604M on the week and $2.1B over three months.

TSLA and GM both report earnings within the next week. ORTEX Alt Data shows German car registrations running at +269% year on year for Tesla and +133% for GM on the same quarter last year, with the dataset measured to lead revenue by 43 and 15 days respectively. The tech-heavy flow pattern and surging EV registrations data sit in the same direction ahead of those prints.

Asset Class and Strategy

Equities absorbed $63.6B in net ETF inflows this week. Fixed income added $10.8B. Both numbers point to risk-on positioning with a defensive hedge: investors are buying stocks but not abandoning bonds. Over three months, fixed income has accumulated $297.5B in net inflows versus $524.7B for equities. The ratio has stayed relatively stable, suggesting a balanced allocation rather than a hard rotation.

Vanilla passive strategies led all strategy flows this week at $43.6B. Active ETFs pulled in $3.3B. Over three months, active strategies have gathered $168.7B, their strongest relative showing in the data. Growth-oriented strategies attracted $3.3B this week, with a flow imbalance of 87, the highest of any strategy category. ESG recorded a $531M net outflow this week, reversing a positive three-month trend. Low volatility strategies also bled $259M on the week after attracting mild inflows over three months. Both reversals point toward investors shifting away from defensive tilts.

The overall picture is risk-on. Capital is moving into US equities, Asian markets, and tech at an accelerating pace. Bonds are still receiving steady inflows, but the tone is not defensive. Caution flags sit over European equities, financials, and ESG strategies, all of which reversed their three-month trends this week.