Investors put nearly $40 billion to work in global equities over the last week.
The net haul — $39.7 billion to be more precise about things — was among the largest of 2024 on EPFR’s data.
As the figure below shows, the influx over the last four weeks was almost $110 billion, the briskest four-week pace of the year.
For 2024 as a whole, global stock funds have seen $496 billion of inflows. So, we’re one weekly inflow from hitting the half-trillion mark. The breakdown is $805 billion to ETFs and $308 billion from mutual funds.
If you’re wondering whether inflows to US-focused products were responsible for the lion’s share of the latest haul globally, the answer’s “no.” US funds did return to inflows following a near $10 billion exodus the prior week, but the $2.7 billion in net buying was modest.
So, where was the buying concentrated? The rather dramatic figure below tells the story.
Emerging market-focused funds saw more than $40 billion of net inflows, easily the most for any week on record.
If your next question is whether investors piled into Chinese stocks in an effort to ride the “stimmy” wave, the answer’s a resounding, all-caps “YES.” China-focused funds saw $39 billion of inflows, the most ever.
“Traders are chasing China stocks, but allocators are skeptical of a big inflection point, especially ahead of the US election,” BofA’s Michael Hartnett said, in his latest. “We buy any China dips as policy makers are saying capital markets will be used aggressively to boost domestic animal spirits,” he went on.
As for the Fed, Hartnett had jokes. “A bull market that began at 666 in March 2009 ending with a blowoff top to 6666 as the Fed slashes yields on $6.5 trillion in money market funds just feels so right,” he wrote, describing the zeitgeist.
Maybe don’t “sell the first cut” after all?
I don’t think it’s a joke. It’s a possible scenario before the bottom falls out.
What China stimmy? is a fair question after MoF briefing.
RMB 1TR bond issuance will be done on time – sounds like this is issuance already planned, nothing new
Allow LGs to issue debt to buy unsold housing – also nothing new, plus the LGs don’t want to do it
Something about substantive banking reform proposals will be issued in the next one or two years – yawner
Aid for low-income and students – worthy, not very bazooka-ish
Studying more “counter-cyclical measures” – Chinese govt suggesting this is just a “cyclical” matter does not imply it plans major structural changes, though maybe something lost in translation
Will replenish state banks’ capital – necessary perhaps but implies more string-pushing?
“Will introduce a series of targeted incremental policy measures” – oh goody, incremental measures
Bait and switch.