Global equity funds attract biggest inflow in three weeks - Lipper

Reuters reports that according to Refinitiv Lipper, global equity funds lured massive inflows in the week ended April 14, on optimism over a strong second quarter earnings, and a decline in U.S. yields due to tempered expectations about a rise in inflation levels.

Investments in global equity funds rose to $16.4 billion this week, the biggest in three weeks, while bond funds also had inflows of about $16 billion.

On the other hand, investors ditched safer money market funds, which faced outflows of $50 billion, the biggest since mid-December last year.

The decline in yields bolstered growth sectors such as technology, which attracted an inflow of $2.1 billion, the biggest in four weeks.

Hopes of higher second-quarter earnings also boosted equity inflows in the week.

Analysts expect profits for S&P 500 firms to show a 25% jump from a year earlier, according to Refinitiv IBES data, which would be the strongest performance for the quarter since 2018.

However, inflows into Asian equities were the lowest compared to other regions, due to a resurgence of COVID-19 cases in India, Philippines, Thailand and South Korea.