Capital withdrawal from money market funds to stocks: Global stock funds saw the highest weekly inflow in three weeks.

As of the week ending April 15, global equity funds saw net inflows for the fourth consecutive week. With hopes of a faster resolution to the Iran conflict than expected, market optimism has increased, coupled with strong corporate earnings reports, investor risk appetite has noticeably rebounded. According to Refinitiv Lipper data, global equity funds received a total of $31.26 billion in net inflows for the week, marking the largest single-week inflow since the week ending March 25. The decrease in geopolitical risks was the primary driver of this round of fund inflows. On April 7, U.S. President Trump announced a two-week temporary ceasefire agreement with Iran, with Israel following suit, putting a temporary pause on over a month of military confrontation in the Middle East and easing tensions. Trump further stated on the 16th that the U.S. and Iran may engage in face-to-face talks again this weekend, saying "we are very close to reaching an agreement," leading to positive market expectations for peace. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index has fallen by about 1.4% since the ceasefire, with funds visibly shifting from safe-haven assets back to risk assets. Another key variable driving this round of fund inflows is oil prices. Brent crude oil prices have remained below $100 per barrel this week, dropping by approximately 4.7% over the past month, significantly easing concerns about inflation getting out of control. In terms of regions, U.S. equity funds saw $21.25 billion in net inflows for the week, marking the fourth consecutive week of net buying; European equity funds received $9.38 billion in net inflows; while Asian equity funds recorded $2.06 billion in net outflows. Regarding sector funds, $6.74 billion in net inflows were recorded for the week, up from $4.86 billion the previous week. Technology, industrial, and metal and mining sectors led the pack, receiving $5.46 billion, $1.37 billion, and $0.633 billion in net allocations respectively. Global bond funds saw a slowdown in fund inflows, with $7.59 billion in net inflows for the week, far lower than the previous week's level of approximately $14.5 billion. Short-term bond funds saw $7.08 billion in net outflows for the week, reversing the trend of $7.5 billion in net inflows the previous week. High-yield bond, euro-denominated bond, and government bond funds received $3.64 billion, $1.15 billion, and $0.827 billion in net inflows respectively. Money market funds saw $173.24 billion in net redemptions, marking the largest single-week outflow since at least September 2018. In the commodity fund sector, gold and other precious metals funds were in demand for the third consecutive week, with approximately $0.822 billion in net inflows for the week. While risk aversion has eased, the inflation-hedging properties of gold and the demand for hedging against geopolitical uncertainties remain stable. Data covering 28,807 funds shows that emerging markets saw net investments for the second consecutive week, with equity funds receiving $3.63 billion in net inflows and bond funds receiving $2.11 billion in inflows.