Global equity funds attract inflows for sixth week on earnings optimism 04-May 19:16

Global equity funds drew inflows for a sixth straight week through April 29, as optimism over strong first-quarter earnings outweighed investor ​concerns about the Middle East conflict and higher oil prices.

According to ‌LSEG Lipper data, global equity funds attracted a net $18.91 billion during the week, following a hefty $48.67 billion of net inflows the previous week.

The MSCI World Index (.MIWD00000PUS) ​hit a record high of 1,084.69 last week after several major U.S. ​tech companies and South Korean chipmaker Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) reported robust results.

LSEG ⁠data covering 525 MSCI World constituents showed that about 72% of ​companies beat analysts' average profit estimates for the first quarter.

Asian equity ​funds saw a record $10.82 billion weekly net inflow, driven by $8.27 billion into Japanese funds and $2.31 billion into South Korean domestic funds.

European and U.S. equity funds recorded net ​weekly inflows of $5.83 billion and $911 million, respectively.

The tech sector attracted a ​net $3.48 billion over the week, lifting total monthly inflows to a net $22.9 billion.

Global bond ‌funds ⁠were popular for a fourth successive week, drawing a net $14.19 billion.

Government bond funds attracted a net $3.07 billion, the largest inflow in three weeks, while high-yield bond funds took in a net $2.44 billion.

Money market funds posted ​a third straight ​week of ⁠outflows, with investors withdrawing a net $36.5 billion.

Investors also pulled a net $1.46 billion from gold and other precious metals ​commodity funds, snapping a four-week run of inflows.

In ​emerging markets, ⁠equity funds saw net outflows of $372 million after three weeks of gains, while bond funds attracted a net $999 million for a fourth consecutive week ⁠of ​inflows, data for 28,889 funds showed.