By Sam Forgione
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors worldwide poured $1.2 billion (0.76 billion pounds) into Japanese stock funds in the week ended Nov. 19 on the Bank of Japan's increased stimulus and a delay to the country's planned sales tax hike, data from a Bank of America Merrill Lynch Global Research report showed on Friday.
Japan was the only major country or region to see inflows over the latest weekly period, according to the report, which also cited data from fund-tracker EPFR Global. Stock funds overall posted $800 million in outflows.
The new money came in the same week that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would delay a planned sales tax hike, after the world's third-biggest economy unexpectedly slipped back into recession in the third quarter.
In addition, the Bank of Japan continues to buy government bonds and risky assets to support the economy. The inflows came after $3.8 billion in withdrawals the prior week, the most since May 2010.
"On some level, a downward surprise in GDP has only hardened the resolve of the government and central bank to redouble efforts to bring inflation back," said Chris Konstantinos, head of international portfolio management at RiverFront Investment Group in Richmond, Virginia.
Stock mutual funds, which are commonly purchased by retail investors, accounted for the total stock fund outflows with withdrawals of $1.7 billion. Investors pulled $1.2 billion from U.S.-focused stock funds, marking their first outflows in four weeks.
European stock funds posted $2 billion in withdrawals, marking outflows in 11 of the past 12 weeks, the report said. The outflows came even as the FTSEurofirst 300 index (FTEU3) of top European shares rallied 1.2 percent over the period, partly on anticipation of more European stimulus.
Investors are skeptical that the ECB will succeed in significantly increasing stimulus measures given resistance from Germany, said Konstantinos of RiverFront.
Bond funds raked in $2.1 billion in new cash, marking their ninth straight week of inflows. Investors continued to favor safer investment-grade bond funds, which attracted $6 billion, while riskier high-yield bond funds posted $1.1 billion in outflows, marking their first withdrawals in five weeks.
Investors shunned funds that mainly hold safe-haven U.S. Treasuries, pulling $2.8 billion, or the most in nine weeks.
Funds that hold inflation-protected Treasuries posted $100 million in outflows, their 11th straight week of withdrawals.
(Reporting by Sam Forgione; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and James Dalgleish)