Global ETF flows turned broadly positive this week. Equities absorbed $28.5B in net new money. Fixed income added $16.2B. The risk-on tone was clear — but sector-level cracks showed up.
The US pulled in $15.0B in net flows over the past week. Japan was close behind at $6.2B, with a flow imbalance of 77.4 — indicating strong buying pressure. Global ex-US funds attracted $2.3B, their imbalance reading at a near-perfect 97.1.
China suffered the sharpest regional reversal. Outflows hit $5.9B this week alone. Over three months, China is down $42.4B — the second-largest regional outflow after a brief stabilisation earlier in the year. South Korea also bled $2.8B this week, though it remains slightly positive over three months ($10.6B in).
Hong Kong saw $904M leave this week, reversing its modest 3m positive reading. Developed Europe dipped to a small net outflow of $433M for the week, a notable shift given it held $897M positive over three months.
Energy topped all sectors this week with $2.5B in net inflows and a flow imbalance of 78.5. That continues a strong 3m trend — Energy has gathered $12.8B over the quarter.
Technology told a very different story. IT saw $1.4B in net outflows this week, despite being the dominant 3m winner at $90.4B. The weekly flow imbalance dropped to 47.2 — essentially neutral. Short-term selling is hitting a sector that had dominated the prior quarter.
Consumer Discretionary dropped $1.0B this week. Health Care shed $838M. Both have been weak over three months too, down $6.1B and $2.1B respectively.
Real Estate was a quiet bright spot. It took in $518M this week, building on $2.3B over three months. Industrials were flat at just $6.5M for the week, despite a strong 3m haul of $15.1B.
Equities led all asset classes with $28.5B this week. Fixed income added $16.2B. Commodities picked up $1.8B — a sharp reversal from the 3m picture, where commodities suffered a $77.7B net outflow. That is the standout divergence of the dataset.
On strategy, active funds pulled in $16.9B this week with an imbalance of 83.4 — the strongest buying pressure of any strategy category. Over three months, active funds have accumulated $130.8B. Momentum strategies also saw strong demand, with an imbalance of 97.0 this week.
ESG funds reversed. They posted a small outflow of $85M this week. Over three months, ESG has bled $13.6B — a persistent and accelerating trend.
Growth funds remain dominant at the 3m level with $326B in net flows. This week, however, the growth vs value distinction was nearly flat.
Overall, the market tone this week was risk-on but selective. Money moved into the US, Japan, and Energy while rotating out of China, Tech, and ESG.
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.
