Equity Funds See Record Inflows as Strong Earnings Boost Market Sentiment
Global equity funds saw inflows for an 11th consecutive week, driven by optimism about strong earnings and cooling crude oil prices. Investors put in a net $21.15 billion into global equity funds for the week ended August 5.
Amazon reported its strongest cloud growth in over four years last week, while Caterpillar and Palantir Technologies posted strong results earlier this week. Earnings data from around 808 MSCI World constituent companies show their combined profits rose 40.9% year-over-year, with about 75% beating analysts' forecasts.
European equity funds attracted $12.52 billion, the largest weekly inflow since July 8, while Asian funds recorded $8.15 billion in inflows. However, U.S. funds saw outflows of around $1.58 billion.
Among sectoral funds, technology funds recorded a six-week low of $1.44 billion in inflows, while industrials, consumer discretionary, and healthcare funds saw net purchases of $1.08 billion, $710 million, and $653 million respectively.