Worldwide investors put money back into stock funds during the week ending May 27 following a period of withdrawals, as artificial intelligence-related shares surged and renewed market confidence, though ongoing geopolitical tensions limited some investment activity.
Stock funds worldwide received $457.57 million in new investments, a sharp turnaround from the $6.56 billion that flowed out the week before, according to LSEG Lipper tracking data.
The MSCI World Index reached an all-time high of 1,129.06 on Friday, coinciding with news that the U.S. and Iran had agreed to extend their ceasefire while awaiting final approval.
Technology shares have gained significant investor interest since the previous week following reports from Nvidia about strong demand for its primary AI processing chips.
Looking at different regions, U.S. stock funds received $1.97 billion in new money, while European funds also saw positive flows of $678 million. Asian funds bucked the trend with $3.92 billion flowing out.
Sector-focused funds overall attracted $5.14 billion, with technology and financial sectors leading the way at $4.98 billion and $1.05 billion in new investments respectively.
Bond funds worldwide continued their positive streak for an eighth consecutive week, drawing in $18.15 billion in new money.
Short-term bonds, euro-based bond funds, and corporate debt funds topped investor preferences, bringing in $3.67 billion, $3.16 billion, and $1.4 billion respectively.
Money market funds experienced $4.46 billion in withdrawals, a complete reversal from the previous week’s $18.12 billion in deposits.
Precious metals funds, including those focused on gold, lost $584 million as investors pulled money out for the fourth time in five weeks.
In developing markets, stock funds lost $4.45 billion for the fifth week running, while bond funds gained $1.08 billion, according to data covering 28,882 investment funds.
