The standout story this week is the return of confidence in US equities. American-focused ETFs pulled in a net $12.7B over seven days. That easily topped every other geography. The flow imbalance sits at 56.6 — balanced but tilted toward buyers.
The US dominates short-term inflows, but the real divergence story is China. Over three months, China ETFs bled $42.2B in net outflows. That selling accelerated this past week, with another $5.9B leaving. Flow imbalance dropped to just 26.2 — firmly in selling territory. South Korea followed the same pattern, shedding $2.4B on the week after $10.3B of net buying over three months. The mood around Northeast Asia has clearly soured in the near term.
Global and Developed Markets ex-US funds bucked that trend. Both categories drew solid buying pressure, with flow imbalance readings above 86 on the week. India added a modest $207M this week. That contrasts with a $1.2B net outflow over three months — a tentative reversal worth watching. Developed Europe also flipped. Three months showed near-flat flows, but this week printed a $552M outflow as European sentiment wobbled.
The biggest short-term call was out of Technology. IT ETFs lost $1.5B on the week despite being the top sector over three months at $91.3B in net inflows. That weekly reversal signals some profit-taking after a strong run. Energy jumped to the top of weekly sector flows, pulling in $1.6B. Over three months, Energy ranked third with $12.6B — suggesting this week's move builds on an existing trend.
Financials and Health Care both bled money on the week, down $599M and $530M respectively. Both have also suffered over three months. Real Estate was a bright spot, gaining $296M on the week and sitting on $2.3B of three-month inflows. Industrials printed near-flat on the week at just $50M in, despite a strong $14.8B over three months.
Equities absorbed $18.9B on the week. Fixed income added $9.7B. Both categories held positive flow imbalance above 56. The notable shift is commodities. Over three months, commodities saw $78B of net outflows — heavy selling. This week, commodities flipped to a $1.2B net inflow. That could be a positioning reset or early hedging activity.
Active management was the star strategy of the week. Active ETFs pulled in $10.1B with a flow imbalance of 79.6 — the strongest buying pressure of any strategy category. Over three months, active strategies attracted $127.4B. Growth strategy dominated the three-month picture with $326.2B in net inflows and a flow imbalance of 93.1 over that period. This week, growth turned slightly negative at -$97M. ESG continued to lose ground, posting net outflows over both timeframes.
Overall, the tone is cautiously risk-on. Money is moving into equities, active strategies, and fixed income — but sellers are selectively unwinding China, IT, and ESG positions.
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.
