QQQ tops ETF inflows as SPY sees large outflows
ETF flow data for Wednesday showed $3.67 billion of net creations in QQQ, the biggest inflow, while SPY recorded $3.82 billion in redemptions, the largest outflow. Semiconductors also drew heavy buying.
Investors appeared to rotate within U.S. equities on Wednesday, with ETF flow data showing a sharp divergence between the Nasdaq-100-focused Invesco QQQ Trust Series (NASDAQ: QQQ ) and the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE: SPY ).
QQQ attracted $3.67 billion in net creations, the largest inflow among all ETFs, while SPY posted $3.82 billion in redemptions — the biggest outflow in the group.
Semiconductor exposure was another major draw, with VanEck Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ: SMH ), Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X ETF (NYSE: SOXL ) and iShares Semiconductor ETF (NASDAQ: SOXX ) combining for nearly $2.3 billion of inflows.
Other notable creations included Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF (NYSE: VTI ) ($416.1 million), Vanguard Intermediate-Term Corp Bond Idx Fund ETF (NASDAQ: VCIT ) ($406.4 million), State Street SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (NYSE: XBI ) ($340.5 million), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: VOO ) ($323.7 million) and iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE: SGOV ) ($276.7 million).
On the redemption side, investors also pulled money from iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (NYSE: IVV ) ($920.5 million) and Ishares Msci South Korea ETF (NYSE: EWY ) ($306.4 million).
QUICK CONTEXT: Investors Favor Growth and Semiconductors The latest flow data points to a notable preference for growth-oriented and technology-heavy exposure over some of the market’s broadest benchmarks.
QQQ’s $3.67 billion inflow nearly offset SPY’s $3.82 billion outflow, suggesting that at least part of the money leaving broad S&P 500 exposure may have been redirected toward the Nasdaq-100.
Semiconductors stood out even more clearly.
SMH, SOXL and SOXX collectively pulled in about $2.3 billion, with SOXL’s leveraged structure posting a 2.76% increase in assets.
SMH gained $1.39 billion, while SOXX attracted $379.8 million.
The flows also showed continued demand for fixed-income ETFs.
VCIT, SGOV and iShares iBoxx $ Inv Grade Corporate Bond ETF (NYSE: LQD ) each ranked among the top 10 creations, highlighting demand for intermediate corporate bonds, ultra-short Treasuries and investment-grade credit.
Meanwhile, redemptions extended beyond equities.
Investors pulled $262.6 million from high-yield bond ETF iShares iBoxx $ High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (NYSE: HYG ) and $156.8 million from long-duration Treasury ETF iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (NASDAQ: TLT ), while SPDR Gold Trust (NYSE: GLD ) saw $171.1 million in outflows.
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