Demand for global equity funds rose sharply in the seven days to May 8, driven by renewed expectations of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve after a weaker-than-expected US jobs report.
Investors bought a net $12.72 billion worth of global equity funds during the week, the biggest weekly net purchase since March 20, according to data from LSEG.
Last week, Labor Department data showed US job growth slowed more than expected in April, easing concerns that persistent inflation in the first quarter will prompt the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates longer.
European equity funds led the way, pulling in about $6.21 billion in a second consecutive week of net buying. Asian and US equity funds posted net purchases of $4.71 billion and $1.14 billion, respectively.
In addition, equity sector funds recorded net outflows for the sixth consecutive week, worth around $519 million. Investors sold health, technology, and gold & precious metals sector funds to net $390 million, $340 million and $308 million, respectively.
Consumer staples bucked the trend with net purchases worth about $507 million. Debt funds were also in demand with investors pouring a net $12.6 billion into global bond funds, the most in a week since April 10.
Global high-risk bond funds attracted net purchases of $3.41 billion, the largest amount since January 31. Loan participation and government bond funds experienced net purchases of around $2 billion and $1.46 billion, respectively.
Money market funds received about $54.96 billion in net inflows, the most for a week since March 6.
On the commodity side, investors left precious metals funds worth $493 million, the biggest weekly net withdrawal since April 17. The energy fund had a net loss of $93 million.
Data covering 29,503 emerging market funds showed investors remained net sellers for the fourth week in a row, with net outflows of $1.51 billion.
