Global equity funds drew net inflows for a sixth consecutive week through April 29, driven by optimism over robust first-quarter earnings that outweighed concerns about Middle East tensions and higher oil prices.
According to LSEG Lipper data, global equity funds attracted a net $18.91 billion during the week, following $48.67 billion the prior week. The MSCI World Index hit a record high after major U.S. tech companies and South Korea's Samsung Electronics reported strong results.
Asian equity funds saw a record $10.82 billion weekly net inflow, led by Japanese and South Korean funds. European and U.S. equity funds posted net inflows of $5.83 billion and $911 million, respectively. The tech sector alone pulled in $3.48 billion, bringing total monthly tech inflows to $22.9 billion.
Global bond funds remained popular for a fourth straight week, attracting $14.19 billion. Government bond funds saw their largest inflow in three weeks at $3.07 billion, while high-yield bond funds took in $2.44 billion.
Money market funds posted a third week of outflows, with investors withdrawing a net $36.5 billion. Gold and precious metals commodity funds saw net outflows for the first time in five weeks.
In emerging markets, equity funds recorded net outflows of $372 million, while bond funds attracted $999 million for a fourth consecutive week of inflows.