Slowing inflows into US portfolio assets amid the US-led tech wobble

Nomura's FX Insights (Asia ex-Japan) tracks high-frequency cross-border portfolio flows. Foreign inflows into US-focused funds slowed in the 19-23 October week, with inflows into US-focused equity funds easing from the average weekly pace of the prior twelve weeks, while US-focused bond funds swung to outflows. Flows into EM-focused ETFs were broadly similar to the previous week and remained positive month-to-date. Korean retail investors' net purchases of US portfolio assets moderated sharply, driven by lower net buying of US equities, and Taiwanese investors turned net sellers of USD-denominated bonds after consecutive weeks of buying, with Taiwan-listed USD bond ETFs recording outflows. The report treats these high-frequency flow proxies as leading indicators for Asia ex-Japan FX, concluding that foreign allocation momentum into US portfolio assets has weakened amid the US-led tech wobble, offering less support to Asian currencies. As a weekly data update, it contains no FX forecast