Investors dumped equity ETFs last week at the fastest pace since the Iran war began. Equity funds lost $43.9B in seven days representing the sharpest weekly outflow in 2026. Commodities absorbed $34.5B in inflows showing pure flight to safety as oil volatility persisted.
The equity exodus reversed three months of steady accumulation. Equity funds gained $393B over the prior quarter before collapsing last week. Flow imbalance crashed to 35.8 from 55.7 showing selling pressure dominated. Fixed income held steady with $5.3B in weekly inflows maintaining defensive appeal.
Japan hemorrhaged $57.9B last week marking the largest regional outflow globally. The Nikkei-heavy market faced dual pressure from yen strength and tech sector rotation fears. Flow imbalance dropped to 2.7 showing near-total capitulation. The reversal stunned markets given Japan's $62.8B quarterly inflow through February.
US funds grabbed $12.4B weekly despite broader equity weakness. South Korea attracted $1.4B with 72.5 flow imbalance as chipmakers held defensive positioning. Taiwan pulled $911M showing semiconductor resilience. China saw modest $171M weekly outflow improving dramatically from the $97.5B quarterly hemorrhage.
Emerging markets excluding China posted 99.7 flow imbalance with $783M in near-perfect buying pressure. Brazil flipped from $3.1B quarterly inflows to $179M weekly outflows as commodity rotation shifted toward energy.
Energy dominated with $2.2B in weekly inflows and 88.6 flow imbalance. The sector grabbed $19.3B over three months as oil crisis escalated. Industrials pulled $434M weekly extending their $24.1B quarterly dominance showing defense infrastructure demand persisted.
Technology absorbed bifurcated flows. The sector gained $503M last week yet showed 52.8 flow imbalance revealing balanced two-way activity. Over three months tech lost $5.3B as AI enthusiasm cooled. Financials bled $1.7B weekly with flow imbalance crashing to 24 showing systematic exits accelerated.
Healthcare dropped $1.1B weekly as defensive rotation favored harder assets over pharma. Materials lost $754M reversing earlier commodity enthusiasm. Consumer discretionary shed $492M showing recessionary positioning intensified.
Vanilla passive strategies collapsed with $44.2B in weekly outflows. Flow imbalance hit 30.4 showing sellers overwhelmed buyers nearly three to one. ESG funds lost $8.5B last week extending their $6.1B quarterly decline showing sustainable investing momentum stalled entirely.
Active management surged with $4.4B in weekly inflows and 75.5 flow imbalance. Over three months active grabbed $137B representing the year's defining rotation. Dividend funds attracted $895M weekly with 86.4 flow imbalance as income strategies gained traction amid volatility.
Growth funds pulled $917M last week yet lost momentum from $7.7B quarterly gains. Value strategies bled $275M weekly despite $7.9B quarterly inflows showing recent reversal in factor preferences. Low volatility grabbed $337M with 80.9 flow imbalance as defensive hedging intensified.
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.
