Europe and emerging markets drive first equity fund inflows in six weeks

Global stocks funds had seen their first inflows in six weeks after the biggest European buying in over 1-1/2 years and in nine months in emerging markets, analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch have calculated.

Using numbers from financial market flow tracking firm EPFR, BAML said investors had piled $6.1 billion into equity funds with $7.1 billion going into Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) being offset slightly by $1 billion exiting mutual funds.

Breaking it down by region, Europe saw $1.3 billion of inflows which was the largest in 87 weeks, emerging market-focused funds saw $1.4 billion added, while US and Japan gained $1 billion and $900 million respectively.

BAML's analysts said it indicated an "inflection point in demand for non-US equities" and suggested that the "bond bubble was mutating to equities". A total of $7.8 billion also went into bond funds last week.

Global equity market capitalisation is now $85.5 trillion and close to an all-time high they added. The S&P 500 is now up 349% in the 128 months since its March 2009 lows and riding the longest "bull market" of all-time.