Global equity funds continued to attract strong inflows, with the largest share flowing into European equity funds, which reached record levels driven by hopes for peace in Ukraine and increased investments in the defense sector amid expectations of rising military spending.
A U.S. inflation report, which indicated that the Federal Reserve’s preferred consumer price gauge might be cooler than expected, also boosted stock performance and investment flows throughout the week, according to Reuters.
Data from LSEG showed that investors pumped $13.35 billion into global equity funds during the week, significantly surpassing the net purchases of $5.32 billion recorded the previous week.
European equity funds saw record inflows of $8.55 billion, the highest level since mid-December 2024, while the Stoxx 600 index rose by approximately 8.5% since the beginning of the year.
Asian and U.S. equity funds also experienced net inflows of $2.41 billion and $1.59 billion, respectively.
At the sector level, fund performance was mixed. Financial and technology sector funds attracted investments of $751 million and $745 million, respectively, while healthcare and consumer discretionary sector funds recorded outflows of $719 million and $683 million, respectively.
In the fixed income sector, global bond funds continued to experience positive inflows for the eighth consecutive week, with total net inflows of $17.91 billion.
Government bond funds saw inflows of $2.32 billion, the largest since October 30, 2024, while high-yield bond and leveraged loan funds recorded net purchases of $2.66 billion and $1.79 billion, respectively.
Conversely, money market funds recorded net outflows of $19.16 billion after several weeks of positive inflows.
In the precious metals market, investors poured $1.75 billion into gold and precious metal funds, marking the largest weekly purchase since January 2022, while energy sector funds recorded outflows of $50 million.
In emerging markets, equities attracted net inflows of $237 million, ending a 14-week streak of outflows, while bond funds saw inflows of $932 million, continuing their gains for the seventh consecutive week.
