US equity funds see strong inflows as earnings optimism boost risk appetite

US equity funds saw robust inflows in the week through October 22 bolstered by optimism over a broadly upbeat quarterly earnings season so far.

Easing US-China trade tensions, with trade talks between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping planned for next week, also supported sentiments.

Investors bought a net USD 9.65 billion worth of US equity funds during the week, after two weeks of net outflows, data from LSEG Lipper showed.

A generally upbeat earnings season so far, with strong results from General Motors, Coca-Cola, and 3M, in the most recent week, renewed investor appetite for equity funds.

Weekly net investments in technology sector funds jumped to a three-week high of USD 1.38 billion. Industrial and consumer staples sectors also received notable investments of USD 805 million and USD 586 million, respectively.

US bond funds attracted USD 8.4 billion, with investors logging a third weekly net purchase.

Short-to-intermediate investment-grade funds stood out as these funds received USD 3.63 billion, the largest weekly inflow since July 2.

Municipal debt funds and general domestic taxable fixed income funds also witnessed USD 1.12 billion and USD 556 million worth of inflows, respectively.

Investors, meanwhile, pumped USD 22.81 billion into US money market funds as they registered a fourth weekly net purchase in five weeks.

(Reporting by Gaurav Dogra, Editing by Nick Zieminski)