ETF Market Weekly Trends: Risk-On Rally Pushes Cash into Equities, Bonds, and Crypto

Equities and Bonds Power Ahead in Synchronized Rally

Defying recent trends of rotation, both equity and fixed income ETFs enjoyed massive inflows, suggesting a market buoyed by positive macroeconomic signals. The flight-to-safety narrative was put on hold as risk assets came back into favor.

Cryptocurrencies solidified their comeback, with inflows of nearly €2.7 billion marking a dramatic reversal from previous weeks of outflows.

Sector Equities: Tech and Health Care Lead Flows and Performance

Sector flows reflected a strong appetite for growth and defensive-growth hybrids. Information Technology led with over €1.6 billion in new money, followed closely by Health Care at €1.2 billion, which also topped the performance chart with a 6.35% gain.

Materials was another winner, attracting over €582 million while posting a strong 3.27% return. Financials, despite a slight negative performance, still saw inflows of €422 million, indicating investor confidence in a broadening rally. Utilities was the lone sector in the red for flows, seeing minor outflows.

Global Flows: US Dominates, But Broader Markets Participate

The United States was the undeniable destination of choice, with US-focused equity ETFs pulling in a massive €5.9 billion. Global and developed market funds also saw strong interest, gathering €2.2 billion and €1 billion respectively.

Emerging markets held their own, with China-focused funds attracting €366 million and Brazil drawing €216 million. On the performance front, South Korea and Belgium were the standout leaders, surging 6.50% and 5.72% respectively.

Thematics: Crypto Roars Back, Niche Themes Attract Capital

The thematic landscape was dominated by the resurgence of cryptocurrency, which saw the highest inflows of any theme at €2.7 billion. Digital infrastructure, nuclear energy, and artificial intelligence also remained firmly in favor, each drawing several hundred million euros.

Performance told an even more dramatic story. The Hydrogen Economy theme skyrocketed 25.20%, while Cannabis and Blockchain strategies posted massive gains of over 16% and 10% respectively. Cryptocurrency themes themselves surged over 10%, rewarding the week's bold inflows.

Fixed Income: Broad-Based Demand Across the Curve

Bond ETFs captured over €13 billion, demonstrating strong and diversified demand. Government investment-grade funds led the way with over €3.1 billion, but high-yield corporate bonds were not far behind, gathering €2.7 billion—a clear sign of risk-on behavior. Aggregate and municipal bond strategies also saw inflows exceeding €1 billion each.

Commodities: Gold Glitters, Industrial Metals Shine

Precious metals remained a core holding, with Gold ETFs alone pulling in €1.9 billion. The performance spotlight, however, was shared with industrial metals. Copper ETFs led all commodity segments with a 6.95% weekly gain, while Silver also surged 5.78%. Gold itself posted a solid 2.01% return.

Crypto ETFs: Bitcoin Back in Vogue

The crypto rally was led by a massive €1.9 billion inflow into Bitcoin-focused products. Ether also saw substantial interest with €716 million in inflows, while Solana gathered €48 million. The flows were rewarded with stellar performance across crypto-linked ETPs.

Top Movers and Favorites

Among individual ETFs, thematic and crypto funds dominated performance. The Global X Hydrogen ETF

soared 25.20%, and cannabis ETFs like WEED

WEED

+2.22%

and

CNBS

+3.06%

jumped over 21%.

On the flow front, broad US market trackers were most popular. The SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF

led with €1.8 billion, joined by the Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF

VTI

+1.71%

and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

SPY

+1.78%

, which each took in over €1 billion. The iShares High Yield Corporate Bond ETF

HYG

+0.31%

and the VanEck Semiconductor ETF

SMH

+7.22%

also featured prominently, capturing over €1.7 billion and €1.1 billion respectively.

Issuers: A Tight Race at the Top

The week saw a highly competitive landscape for issuer flows. SPDR edged out the competition with nearly €7 billion in net new assets, closely followed by iShares with €6.2 billion. Vanguard secured a strong third place with €5.7 billion in inflows, demonstrating robust investor appetite for their low-cost core offerings.

What Happened in European and Canadian ETF Markets?

Our partners at Trackinsight have the full recap here.

Please note this article is for information purposes only and does not in any way constitute investment advice. It is essential that you seek advice from a registered financial professional prior to making any investment decision.