Global equity funds see 11th week of inflows on earnings optimism

Global equity funds extended their winning streak to an eleventh consecutive week, drawing net inflows of $21.15 billion for the period ended August 5. The previous week had seen even larger net purchases of approximately $27.72 billion, according to LSEG Lipper data.

Investor sentiment was buoyed by a robust earnings season. Amazon reported its strongest cloud growth in over four years, while Caterpillar and Palantir Technologies also posted strong results. Data from roughly 808 MSCI World constituent companies shows combined quarterly profits rose 40.9% year-on-year, with about 75% of firms beating analyst forecasts.

Regionally, European equity funds led the charge with $12.52 billion in inflows—the largest weekly figure since July 8—while Asian funds attracted $8.15 billion. US equity funds bucked the trend, recording outflows of about $1.58 billion.

Among sectoral funds, technology inflows eased to a six-week low of $1.44 billion. Industrials, consumer discretionary, and healthcare funds saw net purchases of $1.08 billion, $710 million, and $653 million, respectively.

Bond funds also saw strong demand, with net inflows of $12.27 billion—the largest weekly purchase in three weeks. High-yield funds attracted $3.66 billion, the most in five weeks, while short-term bond funds and loan participation funds drew $3.43 billion and $915 million, respectively.

Money market funds reversed a three-week outflow trend, pulling in $57.48 billion in net inflows.

In commodities, gold and precious metals funds remained popular for a fourth straight week, attracting $345 million, while energy funds saw a second consecutive weekly outflow of $153 million.

Emerging market equity funds gained momentum, with weekly inflows climbing to a more than five-month high of $9.26 billion. Emerging market bond funds also attracted $303 million in net investments.