(Reuters) – Global equity funds witnessed outflows for the first time in five weeks in the week ended May 29, hit by rising U.S. Treasury yields and investor caution ahead of a crucial U.S. inflation report, which may provide insights into the future direction of U.S. interest rates.
According to Lipper data, global equity funds registered $4.9 billion in outflows, marking their first withdrawal since the week ending April 24.
U.S. equity funds experienced outflows of $7.6 billion, while Asian equity funds saw their second consecutive weekly outflow, totaling $1.5 billion. Conversely, European equity funds attracted $3.7 billion in inflows.
U.S. Treasury yields rose this week, following the latest U.S. economic data, which revealed an unexpected improvement in consumer confidence in May and heightened consumer perceptions of the labor market.
The MSCI All Country Stock Index has fallen nearly 2% for the week, weighed down by investor caution ahead of the U.S. core Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index report for April, due on Friday.
Among sector-specific funds, financials, health care, and consumer discretionary funds experienced outflows of $598 million, $570 million, and $452 million respectively. Conversely, tech and industrial sector funds attracted inflows of $379 million and $289 million respectively.
Global bond funds received $4.3 billion in inflows, although this was significantly lower than the $12.4 billion recorded in the previous week.
Global government bond funds, high-yield bond funds, and loan participation funds recorded inflows of $877 million, $337 million, and $394 million, respectively. Concurrently, money market funds experienced outflows of $5.7 billion, a significant drop from the previous week’s inflow of $17.1 billion.
In the commodities sector, precious metals funds saw their first outflows in three months, totaling $580.4 million, while energy funds also encountered net sales of approximately $80 million.
Data on 29,558 emerging market funds revealed a net sale of $538.1 million in equities, marking the largest outflow in over a month. Bond funds also reported their first outflow in three weeks, amounting to $952 million.
(Reporting By Patturaja Murugaboopathy in Bengaluru; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
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