Global equity funds see surge in outflows

Global equity funds saw a jump in outflows in the seven days through April 17 as speculation the US Federal Reserve will delay cutting interest rates dampened investor sentiment, reports Reuters.

Outflows were also fuelled by escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East following Iran's attack on Israel on Saturday.

Investors pulled a net $23.48 billion from global equity funds during the week, their largest weekly net withdrawal since mid-December 2022, data from LSEG showed.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, addressing recent economic data on Tuesday, indicated that stronger than expected US inflation figures over the past three months did not provide a strong basis for changing monetary policy soon.

Concurrently, the yield on the benchmark 10-year US bond climbed to a five-month high of 4.696 per cent during the week, diminishing the attractiveness of mega-cap growth stocks and their associated mutual funds.