JPMorgan’s Delta One Desk documented heavy net liquidations in US equity futures last week, recording $21 billion of net selling activity. Roughly four-fifths of that volume occurred on Friday and was concentrated in S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures, according to the desk.
Those futures outflows were substantially offset by purchases of exchange-traded funds. Equity ETFs attracted $26.8 billion in inflows over the week, while fixed income ETFs saw $12.4 billion of net new capital. Commodity ETFs faced net redemptions of $1.7 billion and currency and multi-asset funds recorded combined outflows of $0.4 billion.
Among major equity ETFs, the Invesco QQQ Trust (NASDAQ:QQQ) experienced $3.4 billion of outflows. By contrast, the large-cap S&P ETFs SPY, IVV and VOO together registered roughly $9.5 billion of net inflows.
Regionally, US equity-focused ETFs absorbed $18.7 billion. International developed market funds drew $8.6 billion in inflows with notable strength into Japan, Canada and Europe, while emerging market funds were net sellers, led by outflows from Brazil. Korea showed a small reversal, recording mild inflows after five straight weeks of outflows.
Thematic ETFs recorded $4.2 billion of net inflows last week, with a large portion of that demand directed to DRAM-focused funds which attracted $2.5 billion.
Commodity trend-following advisors (CTAs) remained significantly long equities despite the Friday sell-off. CTA signals in the US were broadly positive, though the cushion before near-dated signals would turn negative is now below 1%. CTAs also remained broadly long in Europe and are likely long in Japan and Korea equities, while maintaining short positions in China and India.
Sector rotation was evident over the week. Investors reduced exposure to consumer staples, consumer discretionary, energy and technology, while adding to materials. Growth-focused funds experienced notable outflows, whereas managed risk, single stock and momentum ETFs saw inflows that exceeded one standard deviation.
Market snapshot
- Equity ETF inflows: $26.8 billion
- Fixed income ETF inflows: $12.4 billion
- Commodity ETF outflows: $1.7 billion
- Currency and multi-asset outflows: $0.4 billion
The Delta One Desk data highlights a week in which heavy futures selling was largely neutralized by strong ETF demand, producing a split picture across regions, sectors and strategies.