Institutional money moved decisively into equities this week. US-focused ETFs pulled in a net $136B over the past seven days. That dwarfs every other geography by a wide margin. Japan came second at $20.6B in net inflows. Both regions show strong buying pressure — the US at a flow imbalance of 82.4 and Japan at 90.9.
The biggest negative story is China. It shed $7.2B in net outflows this week, with a flow imbalance of just 27.6 — firmly in selling territory. Over three months, China's outflows total $36.5B. That is a consistent trend, not a one-week blip.
The US and Japan are taking the bulk of fresh capital. Over three months, US ETFs gathered $671B in net flows. Japan added $307B over the same period. Both trends accelerated this week. Germany sits at the opposite end. It posted $202M in outflows this week and $3.7B over three months. Developed Europe as a whole is barely positive over 3 months despite brief weekly selling pressure.
India flipped negative over three months at -$971M, after modest inflows this week of $146M. That divergence warrants watching — short-term buyers stepping in against a longer softening trend.
Technology captured the largest sector inflows this week at $3.4B net, despite a balanced flow imbalance of 58.4. Industrials added . Both sectors show consistent buying over three months too — Tech leads with and Industrials added over that period.
The losers are clear. Financials lost $600M this week and $12.1B over three months. Health Care dropped $438M this week and $5.7B over three months. Utilities bled $387M this week — yet over three months it actually attracted $2.7B. That is a notable short-term reversal for a sector that had been attracting defensive flows.
Energy is the standout divergence story. Over three months it was a solid winner at $11.6B in net inflows. This week it slipped to -$110M. Momentum may be fading.
Equities dominate with $157B in net inflows over one week and $1.2T over three months. Fixed income added a steady $9.5B this week. Commodities saw modest outflows of $113M this week — but that masks a severe three-month picture of -$80.5B. Investors have rotated away from commodities hard over the quarter.
On strategy, Growth ETFs are the standout. They pulled in $96.5B this week at a near-perfect flow imbalance of 99.5. Over three months, Growth gathered $328B. Active ETFs also attracted $9.1B this week and $132B over three months — the shift toward active management remains in force.
ESG continues to lose. It posted $461M in net inflows this week, but over three months it is deeply negative at -$14B.
Overall the tone is firmly risk-on. Equities dominate, Growth leads, and defensive plays like Health Care, Utilities, and Commodities are losing ground.
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.
