Japan pulled $9.9B in ETF inflows last week. That dwarfed every other region. The Tokyo rally grabbed institutional attention as flows surged to 75.1% imbalance. Active managers drove $6.8B in strategy flows showing conviction outweighed passive indexing for once.
The U.S. claimed second with $2.9B. But that masked churn. American equity funds absorbed $123.5B gross inflow against $120.6B outflow. Net positioning stayed flat despite heavy two-way traffic.
Taiwan grabbed $1.4B at 86.4% flow imbalance. Canada added $1.3B. Developed ex-U.S. markets pulled $1.7B combined. Australia hemorrhaged $597M as commodity fears intensified. India shed $509M showing EM rotation away from high valuations.
China reversed three-month bleeding. The mainland absorbed $421M last week after losing $93.9B over three months. That represented a dramatic sentiment shift even if absolute flows stayed modest.
Technology absorbed brutal selling. The sector lost $5.2B last week extending its worst positioning in months. Materials dumped $2.4B at just 15% flow imbalance. Health care shed $1.4B showing defensive rotation failed to materialize.
Energy bucked the trend. The sector pulled $682M as oil volatility triggered speculative positioning. Consumer discretionary grabbed $174M. Utilities added $123M showing classic flight to safety. Real estate scraped $92M.
Three-month context matters. Industrials dominated with $23.3B over the quarter. Energy claimed $16.6B. Materials pulled $13.7B. Technology bled $7.4B total showing sustained bear positioning across the quarter.
Equities dominated with $24.5B weekly inflows. Fixed income grabbed $9.8B as rates volatility eased. Commodities dumped $9.6B showing energy speculation failed to offset broad selling.
Active strategy flows hit $6.8B at 77.5% imbalance. That crushed vanilla indexing at 53% imbalance despite vanilla's larger $12.2B absolute flow. ESG shed $1.5B continuing its year-long exodus. Equal weight added $1.1B. Growth grabbed $1B.
Currency hedged vanilla funds showed 99.5% flow imbalance. Momentum added $279M. Buy-write strategies pulled $302M as volatility picked up.
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.