Where did global capital flow when technology stocks and precious metals plummeted last week?
Last week, Europe and Asia led inflows into equity funds, while the United States recorded outflows.
According to Zhitong Finance APP, during the week ending February 11, there were strong inflows of funds into European and Asian equity funds as investors reduced their holdings in large U.S. stocks due to concerns over high valuations and growing artificial intelligence-related expenditures. LSEG Lipper data showed that global equity funds recorded net inflows for the fifth consecutive week, with a total of $25.54 billion. European funds saw net inflows of $17.53 billion, marking the highest weekly inflow since at least 2022; Asian funds attracted approximately $6.28 billion in net inflows. Meanwhile, U.S. equity funds experienced net outflows of $1.42 billion, the first such outflow in three weeks.
Due to renewed market concerns that artificial intelligence technology could impact industries such as software, legal services, and wealth management, the Nasdaq Composite Index, which is heavily weighted toward technology stocks, fell by 2.03% last Thursday.
Global bond funds continued to attract investor interest for the sixth consecutive week, with net inflows reaching approximately $21.09 billion in the most recent week. Short-term bond funds recorded net inflows of $4.87 billion, the highest since net inflows of $10.17 billion in mid-December. Corporate bond funds and euro-denominated bond funds attracted $2.63 billion and $2.06 billion in inflows, respectively.
Meanwhile, inflows into money market funds dropped to their lowest level in three weeks, amounting to only $1.15 billion.
Gold and precious metals commodity funds attracted inflows for the 13th time in 14 weeks, but net inflows amounted to $1.25 billion, the lowest level in five weeks.
In emerging markets, investors injected $8.52 billion into equity funds, extending recent buying momentum for an eighth consecutive week. For bond funds, comprehensive data from 28,723 funds showed inflows of $1.29 billion.
