Global equity funds draw inflows for ninth week on corporate earnings optimism

(Reuters) -Global equity funds attracted inflows for a ninth straight week as fund investors, encouraged by an overall strong third-quarter earnings season, brushed off concerns about lofty tech valuations.

LSEG Lipper data showed that investors bought a net $4.43 billion worth of global equity funds during the week to November 19, a touch higher than the prior week's $4.39 billion.

"The third-quarter earnings season was robust, led by tech but with signs of strength across the board," said Mark Haefele, chief investment officer, UBS Global Wealth Management.

LSEG data for a combined 4,448 large- and mid-cap companies showed that their profits rose about 15.66% from a year ago in the third quarter, topping analyst expectations of an 8.23% increase.

"We rate global equities as Attractive," UBS's Haefele said.

The MSCI World Index, however, eased to a nearly 2-1/2-month low of 963.34 on Friday amid uncertainty over U.S. interest rates and worries about stretched valuations in the technology sector.

Investors bought a net $4.36 billion and $3.13 billion, respectively, of U.S. and Asian equity funds but divested roughly $6.03 billion worth of European funds.

The healthcare sector received a net $2.46 billion, the largest weekly inflow since at least 2022. Consumer discretionary and tech, however, saw net sales of $1.12 billion and $895 million, respectively.

Investors bought a net $10.55 billion worth of global bond funds, extending inflows into a 31st straight week.

Short-term bond funds drew $4.76 billion, following approximately $5.79 billion worth of net purchases the prior week. Government bond funds and euro-denominated bond funds also attracted $3.41 billion and $2.92 billion, respectively.

Money market funds suffered a second successive weekly outflow, valued at a net $7.51 billion.

Investors pumped $5.2 billion into gold and precious metals commodity funds in their largest weekly net purchase since October 22.

In emerging markets, investors added a net $2.05 billion worth of equity funds for a fourth successive weekly purchase but divested approximately $1.04 billion worth of bond funds, data for a combined 28,779 funds showed.

(Reporting by Gaurav Dogra; Editing by Kirsten Donovan)