Institutional money moved decisively into US equities this week. ETF inflows into US-focused funds hit a net $43.2B over seven days. That dwarfs every other geography. The trend is consistent with the three-month picture, where US funds pulled in $693.9B net — by far the largest regional total.
The US dominates both timeframes. Its flow imbalance score of 69 this week signals clear buying pressure. Japan is the second-largest destination, with $12.9B net inflows in the past week and $294.6B over three months. Both markets are attracting steady, not sporadic, demand.
The sharpest reversal story is China. It bled $10.8B in net outflows this week. Over three months, that loss swells to $48.3B. Flow imbalance sits at just 27.5 for the week — deep in selling territory. India also flipped. It drew modest inflows this week ($244M), but has been a net outflow market over three months (-$1.3B). That shift is worth watching.
Global Ex-US funds stand out for a different reason. Their flow imbalance hit 98.7 this week — near-total buying dominance with almost no offsetting outflows. The UK pulled in $1.9B on the week, consistent with its positive three-month trend.
Technology grabbed $7.2B in net inflows this week. It leads all sectors by a wide margin. Over three months, tech has absorbed $96.3B — the top sector by far.
The reversal worth flagging: Industrials and Energy. Both were top performers over three months (Industrials +$14B, Energy +$10.9B net). This week, both flipped negative. Industrials shed $769M and Energy $819M. That is a potential rotation signal — money that backed cyclicals over the quarter is now pulling back.
Materials also reversed. It attracted $1.1B this week but was a $6B outflow sector over three months. Real Estate continued positive in both windows, suggesting steady defensive positioning alongside the growth trade.
Equities dominated. Net inflows hit $57.2B in the past week, versus $15.8B into Fixed Income. Over three months, equity absorbed $1.17T net versus $185B for bonds. The gap is enormous, confirming a sustained risk-on tilt.
Commodities are a notable contrast. They drew $3.4B this week. But the three-month figure is a $71.4B outflow. Investors rotated out of commodities through the quarter. The one-week bounce may reflect short-term positioning rather than a genuine shift.
On strategy, Active funds stood out. Their flow imbalance of 84.7 this week is well above Vanilla passive (59.8). Growth strategies also scored 84.7 and pulled in nearly $4B on the week — consistent with the 93.2 imbalance over three months. ESG, by contrast, was a three-month loser (-$15.1B) but marginally positive this week.
Overall, the tone is clearly risk-on. Investors are buying equities, favouring the US and Japan, pushing into tech and growth, and pulling away from China, cyclicals, and commodities.
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.
