Global equity funds see huge outflows

Global equity funds observed huge outflows in the week to Oct. 11 on worries over higher interest rates and heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, reports Reuters.

Investors also showed caution in anticipation of a key report on U.S. inflation, leading to a net disposal of $8.93 billion in global equity funds during the week, according to data from LSEG.

The military clashes between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas further contributed to risk aversion, prompting investors to retreat from riskier assets.

Regionally, US and European equity funds saw net outflows of $5.68 billion and $4.63 billion, respectively, while Asian funds received an inflow of about $1.29 billion.

Among sector funds, investors withdrew $556 million, $479 million and $453 million, from financials, healthcare and consumer discretionary sectors, respectively.

Meanwhile, safety-focused money market and government bond funds garnered significant interest, with investors allocating about $26.27 billion and $2.44 billion, respectively. This marks the highest inflow for government bond funds since the week ended July 12.