U.S. investors made large investments in equity funds in the week to Oct 16, buoyed by strong third-quarter earnings from U.S. lenders and optimism over a potential Federal Reserve rate cut in November and signs of cooling inflation.
According to LSEG data, U.S. equity funds drew a sharp $20.08 billion in net purchases during the week, following about $3.98 billion worth of inflows in the previous week.
Strong earnings reports from mega-cap banks including Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS), JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), and Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) boosted investor sentiment, driving Wall Street’s major indexes to records this week.
The financial sector gained a substantial $1.17 billion worth of inflows, the highest in three months. Technology and industrial sector funds saw a net $473 million and $378 million worth of purchases.
By segment, investors racked up a net $15.25 billion of large-cap funds, a sharp rebound from $4.25 billion in net sales during the previous week. Mid-cap, multi-cap, and small-cap funds witnessed $1.49 billion, $617 million, and $473 million worth of inflows.
U.S. bond funds received $9.78 billion, the biggest weekly inflow in three months.
Investors scooped up U.S. general domestic taxable, short-to-intermediate investment-grade, and municipal debt funds worth a remarkable $2.12 billion, $2.04 billion and $1.72 billion, respectively.
Money market funds suffered $11.79 billion worth of net sales, the first weekly outflow in four weeks.
(Source: Reuters)
Edward Cooke is a financial analyst, freelance writer, and editor. He has six years of experience in financial journalism. He has an in-depth understanding of equities markets, tracking major indices and providing real-time analysis on stock price movements, corporate earnings, and market sentiment.
