Global equity funds post $5.7 billion outflow, ending 13-week streak

Global equity funds posted $5.7 billion in net outflows in the week ended Aug. 26, ending a 13-week inflow streak and marking the first weekly redemption since May 20, LSEG Lipper data show.

The reversal came as investors braced for two events: Nvidia's quarterly report, which forecast roughly 70 percent revenue growth for fiscal 2028, and Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's scheduled Jackson Hole speech on Friday, after three Fed officials warned that inflation remains persistently elevated.

U.S. equity funds bore the brunt, shedding $22.3 billion, while European and Asian equity funds drew $7.92 billion and $4.8 billion, respectively. Technology funds attracted $3.2 billion and metal and mining funds took in $489 million, while financial-sector funds lost $948 million.

The rotation points to reallocation rather than a broad exit, with investors favoring international equities, short-duration bonds, and gold. Bond funds drew $10.25 billion, a four-week low, with short-term bond funds taking in $6.29 billion, a seven-week high, while money market funds shed $19.74 billion.

Gold funds draw $4.21 billion as haven demand returns

Gold and other precious metals funds attracted $4.21 billion, a six-month high, as haven demand strengthened while investors grew cautious. Energy funds posted a second straight week of outflows, losing $313 million. High-yield bond funds shed $1.77 billion, their first weekly redemption since July 29, reflecting rising aversion to credit risk.

Emerging markets extend inflows for seventh week

Emerging-market assets showed relative resilience. Equity funds drew $709 million, a seventh consecutive week of inflows, while emerging-market bond funds took in $956 million, according to data covering 28,976 funds. Euro-denominated bond funds attracted $1.09 billion.

Nvidia's report eased some concern that AI demand is cooling, even as supply constraints persist. The chipmaker's second-quarter revenue more than doubled to $96.22 billion, beating the $92.17 billion consensus, and it guided third-quarter sales to $108 billion, plus or minus 2 percent, above the $104.19 billion analysts expected. The company also expanded its partnership with Amazon Web Services, which will deploy 2 million additional Nvidia GPUs across its global infrastructure in 2027 and 2028.

The break in the 13-week inflow streak reflects institutional caution at a moment when Nvidia's $5.16 trillion valuation and Big Tech's more than $730 billion in planned AI infrastructure spending this year have concentrated market risk in a handful of names. Five customers accounted for 70 percent of Nvidia's accounts receivable at the end of July, up from 56 percent a year earlier. Warsh's Jackson Hole remarks on Friday will determine whether the rotation into defensive assets extends or reverses, with markets weighing the path of rate cuts against sticky inflation.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.