Tech rally, AI excitement drive strong inflows into global equity funds

FE Team | Published: March 01, 2024 23:30:47

Global equity funds drew substantial inflows in the seven days to February 28, driven by a rally in stock markets and greater investor interest in technology stocks, particularly after Nvidia's strong earnings forecast and growing enthusiasm about artificial intelligence, reports Reuters.
LSEG data showed investors bought a net $6.98 billion of global equity funds during the week, in contrast to net withdrawals the previous week of about $2.93 billion.
Last week, the MSCI World Stock Index hit a new record of 763.35, after Nvidia said it anticipated a significant increase in first-quarter revenue. The forecast briefly propelled Nvidia's market valuation to $2 trillion.
By region, Asian funds lead inflows, drawing in a net $3.56 billion, the biggest weekly net purchase in four weeks. European and US funds also drew about $2.52 billion and $196 million, respectively.
Investors maintained focus on the technology sector, pouring in $1.35 billion for a seventh consecutive week of net buying. Other sectors, such as industrials and metals and mining, also saw positive inflows, with net purchases of $245 million and $219 million, respectively.
In the bond market, global bond funds continued to attract investors for the 10th consecutive week, drawing in $9.78 billion.
Government bond funds saw a fifth week of net inflows, amounting to roughly $1.79 billion. Medium-term USD bond funds and high yield funds also garnered significant interest, with inflows of $2.45 billion and $709 million respectively.
Money market funds saw their first weekly net purchase in three weeks, totalling about $27.17 billion.
Among commodities, precious metal funds suffered outflows for a ninth successive week, amounting to $767 million on a net basis. Energy funds also had about $107 million worth of net selling.