US equity funds continued to experience outflows for the fourth consecutive week, ending on April 24, driven by diminishing expectations for rate cuts this year.

According to data from LSEG, US equity funds saw withdrawals totalling $1.2 billion during the week. However, this figure marked a slight decrease from the previous week, as optimism surrounding strong corporate earnings, particularly from major tech companies, provided some support to the market sentiment.

US stock index futures climbed higher on Friday, buoyed by impressive earnings reports from Alphabet and Microsoft, while investors awaited key inflation data that could influence US monetary policy decisions.

At the beginning of the year, market expectations for rate cuts stood at six, but traders have since scaled back their forecasts to one or two cuts, with some even considering the possibility of a rate hike.

Sector funds saw mixed flows during the week: tech funds witnessed outflows of $465 million, while consumer staples and utilities funds saw withdrawals of $343 million and $144 million, respectively. Conversely, energy and industrial funds reported inflows of $422 million and $479 million, respectively.

Meanwhile, US bond funds reversed their previous outflows, attracting inflows of $845 million during the week.

Additionally, money market funds saw a turnaround in investor sentiment, securing inflows of $5.6 billion after experiencing outflows in the preceding two weeks.

(With Reuters inputs)