US equity funds lure inflows for third straight week

Nov 4 (Reuters) – US equity funds continued to gain inflows for a third straight week in the week to Nov. 2, helped by expectations that the Federal Reserve would slow the pace of its interest rate hikes soon.

According to Refinitiv Lipper data, investors bought a net USD 10.19 billion worth of US equity funds, compared with purchases of USD 7.93 billion in the previous week.

Solid earnings beat from Apple Inc. (AAPL) and energy giants Chevron (CVX), Exxon Mobil (XOM) also boosted investor confidence during the reported week.

Investors purchased US large- and small-cap equity funds worth USD 6.62 billion and USD 1.59 billion respectively, although mid-cap funds witnessed outflows of USD 473 million.

By sector, health care, tech and consumer staples funds obtained inflows worth USD 630 million, USD 478 million, and USD 393 million respectively.

However, the US Federal Reserve hiked the interest rates by 75 basis points and said the peak for rates would likely be higher than previously expected.

Meanwhile, outflows from bond funds stood at just USD 14 million, a seven-week low.

Investors purchased US high yield bond funds of USD 5.07 billion, which was their biggest weekly net buying since August 2020, but government bond funds witnessed USD 1.75 billion worth of withdrawals after luring inflows for nine straight weeks.

Money market funds drew USD 46.64 billion in inflow after posting two weeks of outflows in a row.

(Reporting by Gaurav Dogra and Patturaja Murugaboopathy in Bengaluru; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)