Global equities see biggest inflow in three weeks on AI optimism

Investor cash rushed back into global equities in the week to June 3, with equity funds taking in $21.44 billion, the biggest weekly inflow in three weeks and a sign that AI enthusiasm still outweighed caution after recent market swings. The rebound was powered by strong technology earnings, and by a market willing to reward companies that could tie growth directly to AI demand.

Dell and HP were the clearest examples of that trade. Both reported blockbuster results and rallied sharply, with Dell surging 42.6% and HP gaining 7.1% last week. Hewlett Packard Enterprise also jumped 28% on Tuesday as expansion in AI data centers lifted demand expectations. Those moves helped push the MSCI World Index to a record 1,138.3 earlier in the week, reinforcing the view that investors were still buying the AI story when profits looked tangible.

The inflows were broad enough to reach beyond a handful of mega-cap names. European equity funds led regional buying with $11.16 billion, while U.S. funds drew $7.43 billion and Asian funds attracted $760 million. Technology funds alone pulled in $9.02 billion, their largest weekly net purchase since May 13. Industrials funds gained $1.61 billion and metals and mining funds added $747 million, suggesting the optimism reached deeper into the supply chain that supports the AI buildout.

At the same time, investors did not abandon safer assets. Global bond funds took in $24.23 billion for a ninth straight week of inflows, while money market funds saw the biggest weekly haul since January 7, with $159.83 billion moving in. Dollar-denominated medium-term bond funds, short-term bond funds and high-yield bond funds also drew $3.13 billion, $2.89 billion and $2.53 billion, respectively. Gold and other precious metals commodity funds, by contrast, saw outflows.

The split showed a market still balancing risk and defense rather than making a clean break toward equities. Emerging-market equity funds lost money for a sixth straight week, even as emerging-market bond funds attracted cash, underscoring how selective investors remain about where they want exposure. The latest surge followed eight straight weeks of global equity inflows through May 13, when funds had already taken in $39.15 billion, and came as global stocks also rallied on AI optimism even while oil prices edged higher on U.S.-Iran war uncertainty.