Global equity fund inflows reach 31.26 billion dollars

Global investors poured significant capital into equity funds for the fourth consecutive week ending April 15, as strong corporate earnings and hope for a de-escalation in Middle East tensions bolstered investor confidence. According to data from LSEG Lipper, investors allocated a net $31.26 billion to global equity funds, marking the largest weekly purchase since March 25. Risk appetite was further supported by a stabilization in energy markets, where Brent Crude Oil traded broadly below the $100 per barrel threshold. This trend has helped alleviate immediate concerns regarding persistent inflation. Market sentiment also improved on reports of a potential high-level meeting between the United States and Iran scheduled for the weekend, which investors hope could lead to a swift resolution of the ongoing conflict. Geographically, equity funds in the United States saw an allotment of $21.25 billion, continuing a four-week streak of net purchases. European funds attracted $9.38 billion in new capital, while Asian funds bucked the trend with net divestments totaling $2.06 billion. On a sectoral basis, technology funds led the gains with $5.46 billion in net allocations, followed by the industrial sector at $1.37 billion and metals and mining at $633 million. In the fixed-income market, global bond fund inflows moderated to $7.59 billion, down from approximately $14.5 billion the previous week. While high-yield, euro-denominated, and government bond funds continued to attract capital, short-term bond funds saw significant weekly outflows of $7.08 billion. The most dramatic shift occurred in money market funds, which experienced a net sale of $173.24 billion. This represents the largest weekly outflow for the asset class since at least September 2018, suggesting a major rotation of capital back into riskier assets. Commodity-focused funds remained a popular choice for the third week running. Gold and other precious metals funds secured inflows of roughly $822 million. Meanwhile, emerging markets continued to see steady interest, with investors pumping $3.63 billion into equity funds and $2.11 billion into bond funds across a broad spectrum of more than 28,000 tracked funds.