During the seven days ending March 27, global equity funds attracted net inflows for the fifth straight week, as investors adjusted their expectations regarding the timing of interest rate cuts by major central banks following a surprise early cut by the Swiss National Bank.

According to LSEG data, investors injected a net $3.28 billion into global equity funds during the week, following net purchases of $14.68 billion in the previous week.

Investors maintained their belief that the Federal Reserve would implement three rate cuts this year, in line with the U.S. central bank's outlook for 2024 rate adjustments. This conviction was reinforced by Friday's release of Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) data indicating a moderation in U.S. consumer prices.

Regionally, Asian funds led the way with net purchases totaling $6.01 billion, the highest in eight weeks. U.S. funds also saw inflows of $2.6 billion, while European funds experienced outflows of approximately $6.63 billion.

Within sectors, industrials received $1.05 billion in inflows, while the tech sector recorded its eleventh consecutive week of inflows, gaining $1.24 billion. However, the healthcare sector faced net selling of $1.56 billion.

On the bond front, funds continued to attract inflows for the 14th successive week, totaling approximately $11.19 billion on a net basis. Government bond funds saw the largest weekly inflow in three weeks, receiving $1.9 billion. Additionally, high yield and loan participation funds attracted $2.16 billion and $884 million, respectively.

Money market funds experienced net outflows of about $36.78 billion for the second consecutive week.

In commodities, investors withdrew a net $586 million from precious metal funds, contrasting with the previous week's net buying of $1.39 billion. Energy funds received marginal inflows of $8 million.

Data covering 29,677 emerging market funds showed equity funds receiving $361 million in net inflows, their first weekly inflow in four weeks. Bond funds, however, witnessed net selling of $804 million, marking the second consecutive week of outflows.

(With Reuters Inputs)