money market: Global money market funds get highest inflows in 13 weeks, Lipper data show

Global investors put more cash in safer money market funds in the week ended March 24, on resurgent worries over coronavirus infections and fresh lockdowns in some parts of Europe.

Global money market funds received inflows of $42.6 billion in the week, the biggest in 13 weeks, data from Refinitiv Lipper showed.

Meanwhile, equity funds received inflows of $23.2 billion, a 34 per cent decline compared with the previous week, and bond funds got $6.94 billion, a 17 per cent drop.

During the week, investors were also spooked by other concerns, such as U.S. and European sanctions over China, the abrupt dismissal of Turkey’s central bank chief and the cost of infrastructure spending and potential tax increases to pay for President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion relief bill.

Among equity funds, inflows into cyclical sectors such as financials and industrials slowed on rising doubts over a faster economic recovery from the pandemic, as coronavirus cases increased around the world.

However, investors shunned safer precious metal funds, which faced an outflow of $409 million in the week, as a stronger dollar crimped commodity prices.

Among bond funds, investors purchased about $4.4 billion in U.S. short- to medium-term bond funds and $1.4 in inflation-linked bond funds.

Meanwhile, global corporate bond funds suffered a combined net outflow of $4.27 billion in the week, the biggest since early April 2020.

An analysis of 23,669 emerging-market funds showed equity funds attracted $857 million in inflows, the lowest in 11 weeks. Bond funds got inflows of $301 million.