June 19 (Reuters) – Investors poured the most capital in roughly 19 months into global equity funds in the week to June 17, buoyed by optimism over an interim deal to end the U.S.-Iran war and expectations that reopening the Strait of Hormuz could help ease inflationary pressures.
They bought a net $55.22 billion of global equity funds during the week in their largest weekly purchase since November 13, 2024, data from LSEG Lipper showed.
The U.S. and Iran signed an agreement on Wednesday that extends a ceasefire announced in April by another 60 days to allow the two sides to negotiate a truce.
The deal also specifies the full resumption of maritime traffic “with no charge” in the Strait of Hormuz, a global oil supply route whose closure by Tehran had driven crude prices sharply higher during the conflict.
Optimism over the deal drove $38.37 billion into U.S. equity funds, the largest weekly inflow in 19 months. European and Asian funds also attracted weekly investments of $10.66 billion and $3.92 billion, respectively.
Technology sector funds garnered a record $21.46 billion in weekly investments. Industrial sector funds also stood out, attracting $2.49 billion in inflows, the largest amount since March 4.
Global bond funds saw net weekly purchases of $17.17 billion, extending inflows for an 11th consecutive week.
Corporate bond funds led bond fund inflows, attracting $2.86 billion, the largest weekly net purchase in two months. Short-term and euro-denominated bond funds also had weekly inflows of $1.44 billion and $1.25 billion, respectively.
Investors added a net $40.03 billion to money market funds, reversing $19.02 billion in net sales the previous week.
Gold and other precious metal funds faced selling pressure for a fifth consecutive week, with investors withdrawing $1.78 billion from these funds.
In emerging markets, equity funds were out of favor for the eighth successive week, with $2.88 billion of outflows during the week. Bond funds also suffered $309 million in weekly net sales, data covering 28,869 funds showed.
Reporting by Gaurav Dogra; Editing by Jan Harvey.
