Global equity funds see major outflows as rate cut views shift

(Reuters) - Global equity funds experienced heavy outflows in the week to Feb. 7, aligning with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's remarks on U.S. inflation and a strong jobs report, as markets reassess bets of the Fed's interest rate decisions.

According to data from LSEG, investors withdrew a net $13.38 billion from global equity funds, the most in a week since June 21, 2023.

This response was shaped by a U.S. Labor Department report indicating accelerated job growth and the most substantial wage increase in nearly two years in January, affecting projections for rate cuts.

The U.S. equity funds suffered about $11.74 billion worth of net selling, the biggest weekly outflow since Dec. 2022. On the contrary, investors poured about $3.44 billion and $1.33 billion into Asian and European funds, respectively.

Energy, utilities, and metals & mining funds saw about $608 million, $526 million and $448 million worth of net disposals. Conversely, healthcare funds received about $760 million in inflows.

Meanwhile, global bond funds secured inflows for the seventh successive week, valuing about $6.33 billion on a net basis.

Dollar-denominated global bond funds received a noteworthy $2.19 billion, the highest since at least March 2022. Global government and corporate bond funds received inflows worth $593 million and $553 million, respectively.

Concurrently, money market funds garnered about $26.95 billion in inflows as they saw a second successive week of net buying.

In commodities, energy funds saw $255 million worth of net buying, the largest since Oct. 25. However, precious metal funds witnessed $423 million worth of outflows, a second successive week of net selling.

Data covering 29,635 emerging market funds showed bond funds drew $314 million in their first weekly net purchase since Jan. 17, while equity funds witnessed a marginal $25 million worth of net selling.

(Reporting by Gaurav Dogra and Patturaja Murugaboopathy in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)