US mutual-fund investors sprinted out of domestic stocks at the fastest pace in nine weeks as trade talks seemed to deteriorate and social media executives were grilled by lawmakers, Investment Company Institute (ICI) data showed on Wednesday.
Mutual fund investors pulled $8.1 billion from domestic stock funds during the week ended Sept. 5, while exchange-traded funds (ETFs) focused on the same market attracted $1.1 billion, the trade group said. ETFs are heavily trafficked by quick-trading investors while mutual funds are more exclusively used by long-term retail investors.
During the latest week, Canada and the United States concluded trade talks without resolution, a report suggested that the United States could impose even more tariffs on Chinese goods and Facebook Inc and Twitter Inc executives defended their companies before skeptical US lawmakers. Despite record-high US corporate earnings, investors remain skittish around domestic stocks.