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Foreign capital flows into US stocks hit record $942bn
2026 年 9 月 27 日 · 星期日本期：跨境资本流动 · 美股 vs 美债
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Foreign investors made a record $942bn of net purchases of US stocks and fund shares in the 12 months to July, while net buying of US debt fell to $188bn in the second quarter. Overseas demand is shifting from Treasuries to equities.
Record net purchases of US stocks and fund shares by foreign investors in the 12 months to July — the highest rolling 12-month total since records began in 1985.
Foreign capital flows into US stockshit record$942bn
海外资金流入美股创下9420 亿美元的纪录
PARA 01
Foreign investorsmade a record $942bn in net purchases1of US equities and investment fund shares2in the 12 months to July,accelerating a shift in overseas investment towards American stocks and away from debt.
The flowsrepresentedthe highest rolling 12-month total in Treasury data3going back to 1985.
这轮流入构成了美国财政部数据中口径最高的滚动 12 个月合计该口径可追溯至 1985 年。
PARA 03
Net purchases of US equities and investment fund shares by foreign investorsjumped to $426bn in the second quarter,up 62 per cent from the same period in 2025,and surpassing the previous quarterly record of $299bn in 2022,according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The foreign inflowscoincided with a gain of about 20 per centfor Wall Street's benchmark S&P 5004in the year to July,with tech stocks including Sandisk, Western Digital and Intel among the best performers.
The S&P 500's 14.9 per cent gain in the second quarter— which followed a sharp but shortlived sell-off triggered by the outbreak of the war in Iran —wasits best runsince the same period in 2020.
Trading screens. The S&P 500 rose about 20 per cent in the 12 months to July, and its 14.9 per cent second-quarter gain was the best run since the same period in 2020.交易终端屏幕：截至 7 月的 12 个月里，标普 500 上涨约 20%，其中第二季度 14.9% 的涨幅是 2020 年同期以来最佳单季表现。Unsplash 无版权图库素材（非新闻原图），仅作示意
PARA 06
Foreign demand for US debtmoved in the opposite direction.Overseas investorsbought a net $188bn of US debt securitiesin the second quarter, down from $314bn in the first.
Chart 1 | Net foreign purchases of US equities versus US debt, in $bnBasis: US Bureau of Economic Analysis and Treasury data. Equities are Q2 2026 and the previous record quarter in 2022; bonds are Q1 and Q2 2026.
PARA 07
That came asChina's reported holdings of US Treasuries5fell to $618bn,their lowest level since August 2008,as Beijing diversifies into gold, agency bonds and other assets.6
US dollar notes. Overseas investors bought a net $188bn of US debt in the second quarter, down from $314bn in the first; China's Treasury holdings fell to $618bn.美元纸币。第二季度海外投资者净买入美国债券 1880 亿美元，低于第一季度的 3140 亿美元；中国持仓降至 6180 亿美元。Unsplash 无版权图库素材（非新闻原图），仅作示意
PARA 08
On a monthly basis,buyingaccelerated through the second quarter,with net purchases of $110bn in April climbing to $182bn in Junebefore slowing sharply to just $3.7bn in July— still a sixth consecutive month of net buying.
Chart 2 | Monthly net purchases of US stocks and fund shares, April–July 2026 ($bn)Basis: BEA. July net buying fell to $3.7bn but was still the sixth consecutive month of net buying, so the trend is unchanged.
PARA 09
Brad Setser, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations,saidthe blockbuster second-quarter figure may partly reflect delayed buying after a relatively weak first quarter,but that the broader trend remained one of record overseas allocation to US equities.
He pointed toSouth Korea's surging equity market as a key driver:as heavyweight stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix soared,local investorsran into concentration limits and were pushed to7diversify into global assets, primarily US equities.
A processor chip. Korean memory makers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix led a rally that pushed domestic investors past their concentration limits.处理器芯片。三星电子与 SK 海力士领涨韩国股市，把当地投资者的仓位推过了集中度上限。Unsplash 无版权图库素材（非新闻原图），仅作示意
PARA 11
“You rarely see Korea send more than $200bn one way into global equities,and most of it going into US equities,”he said.
“你很少看到韩国把超过 2000 亿美元单向投入全球股市，而且其中大部分流向美股，”他说。
PARA 12
“That shift in the pattern of flowsis very consistent withextraordinary inflows in a dollar context.”
“这种资金流向模式的转变与……高度吻合美元背景下的超常流入。”
PARA 13
Setser warned of the other side of the trend.With Washington running a widening fiscal deficit,8weaker foreign demand for Treasuriesmeansthe absorption of new supply will depend more heavily on domestic funds— or come at the cost of higher financing costs.9
Extended note: Gross flows tell you how busy a market is; net flows tell you which way capital is actually moving. Watch for valuation effects too — holdings can rise because prices rose, not because money came in.
2investment fund shares/ɪnˈvestmənt fʌnd ʃeəz/点击看中文解释 ↓
Shares in pooled vehicles such as mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Buying a US-listed ETF is recorded as buying investment fund shares, not as buying the companies inside it.
Why it matters here ▸ The FT's number covers 'US equities and investment fund shares', so part of the $942bn went into funds rather than directly into single stocks.
Extended note: Because ETFs are pooled vehicles, cross-border statistics count fund shares separately from corporate equities. The split tells you whether foreigners are picking stocks or just buying the index.
A rolling 12-month total adds up the latest 12 months and moves forward every month, instead of using a fixed calendar year. It smooths out seasonal swings.
Why it matters here ▸ The record $942bn is a rolling 12-month figure 'in the 12 months to July' — not calendar-year data.
拓展知识：常见同类口径还有滚动 4 季度（trailing four quarters）、年化（annualised）。看资金流时用它可避免「年初基数低、年末看着猛」的错觉；但单月数据波动极大（本篇 7 月仅 37 亿美元），务必结合趋势读数。
Extended note: Trailing-twelve-month figures are the standard way to read volatile flow data: one huge quarter can distort a calendar year, but it barely moves a 12-month average.
4benchmark/ˈbentʃmɑːk/点击看中文解释 ↓
A benchmark is the yardstick investors measure performance against. For Wall Street it is usually the S&P 500, an index of about 500 large US-listed companies.
Why it matters here ▸ The article calls the S&P 500 'Wall Street's benchmark' and uses its roughly 20 per cent gain to explain why foreigners kept buying.
Extended note: Index returns are the simplest explanation for cross-border flows: when one market's benchmark outruns others, investors rebalance towards it.
5Treasuries/ˈtreʒəriz/点击看中文解释 ↓
Treasuries are bonds issued by the US government to borrow money. They are the deepest and most liquid bond market in the world, which is why foreign central banks hold them as reserves.
Why it matters here ▸ The article contrasts record equity buying with falling net purchases of Treasuries, and notes China's holdings dropped to $618bn, the lowest since August 2008.
Extended note: Treasury holdings are also a policy signal: when a large holder such as China switches into gold and agency bonds, it changes who has to absorb new US debt issuance.
6diversification/daɪˌvɜːsɪfɪˈkeɪʃn/点击看中文解释 ↓
Diversification means spreading money across different assets and markets so that one bad bet cannot sink the whole portfolio.
Why it matters here ▸ Korean investors diversify into global assets after their own market soared — concentration pushed the money out, not weakness at home.
Extended note: Rebalancing flows can be forced rather than chosen. When one market's weighting balloons, funds must trim it and add elsewhere — often into the deepest market, which is the US.
Extended note: Concentration limits turn a rally into an outflow: the more a handful of stocks rise, the more domestic institutions must sell to stay inside their caps.
8fiscal deficit/ˈfɪskl ˈdefɪsɪt/点击看中文解释 ↓
A fiscal deficit is the gap created when a government spends more than it collects in taxes in a year. The gap has to be financed by borrowing.
Why it matters here ▸ The article ties weak Treasury demand to 'a widening fiscal deficit': more borrowing needs more buyers.
Extended note: The deficit is the demand side of the bond market's problem: the same fiscal gap that makes Treasuries plentiful makes foreign buyers harder to replace.
9financing costs/ˈfaɪnənsɪŋ kɒsts/点击看中文解释 ↓
Financing costs are what a borrower pays to raise money. For a government, that means the interest it pays on its debt.
Why it matters here ▸ Setser warns that if foreign demand fades, the US may absorb new supply 'at the cost of higher financing costs'.
Extended note: Rising yields are not only a bond-market story: higher government financing costs lift mortgage rates, corporate borrowing costs and the discount rate used to value equities.
读后测验 · Check Your Understanding
3 道题。点选项立即判分；解析需要单独点开。
Q1According to the FT report, what did foreign investors do with US equities in the 12 months to July?
正确答案：B
原文首句给出的就是本题答案：12 个月净买入 9420 亿美元，为 1985 年有记录以来最高。4260 亿美元是第二季度的数字，而且它超过了 2022 年 2990 亿美元的前纪录，不是「持平」；文章明确说 7 月仍是「连续第六个月净买入」，所以「停止买入」也不成立。 Foreign investors made a record $942bn in net purchases of US equities and investment fund shares in the 12 months to July… The flows represented the highest rolling 12-month total in Treasury data going back to 1985.A reverses the direction; C confuses the quarterly figure with the 12-month total and misstates the 2022 comparison; D contradicts 'a sixth consecutive month of net buying'.
Q2Why does the article call South Korean investors a key driver of the inflows into US stocks?
正确答案：C
原文因果链是「大涨 → 触限 → 被迫分散」，而不是「下跌 → 逃离」。塞策的原话是：三星、SK 海力士等权重股大涨，买过这些股票的投资者面对所谓集中度限制，只能转向美股等全球资产分散风险。选项 A、B 把因果完全反了；D 的「央行护盘买美元」文章从未提及。 as heavyweight stocks such as Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix soared, local investors ran into concentration limits and were pushed to diversify into global assets, primarily US equities.A and B invert the story — it was a rally, not a crash, that pushed Korean money abroad. D invents a currency-defence motive that the article never mentions.
Q3What concern does Brad Setser raise about the shift from Treasuries to US equities?
正确答案：B
塞策提示的是债市的另一面：赤字扩大意味着要发更多债，海外需求走弱就只能更依赖国内资金，或付出更高融资成本。A、C、D 都是听起来合理但原文没有的推测——文章担心的是「谁来消化新增国债、以什么价格消化」，而不是股市会崩或公司要削减股息。 weaker foreign demand for Treasuries means the absorption of new supply will depend more heavily on domestic funds — or come at the cost of higher financing costs.A, C and D sound plausible but are unsupported: the article's worry is about who absorbs new Treasury supply, and at what price.
