By Lucy Raitano
LONDON (Reuters) - Investors piled into bonds in the week to Wednesday, according to a report from Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Global Research on Friday, which also said investors have "shunned" UK stocks after they clocked up 24 weeks straight of outflows.
Overall investor sentiment turned more cautious in the week to Wednesday, as global bond funds recorded $5.4 billion of inflows, gold funds logged $1 billion in outflows and equity funds lost $5 billion in flows, BofA said, citing EPFR data.
In the stocks sector, UK equity funds have come under heavy pressure this year, with 24 straight weeks of outflows and just one week of inflows so far this year, BofA said, saying British stocks have been "shunned".
The fund data covers the days preceding Thursday's bumper interest rate hike by the Bank of England (BoE), after inflation figures on Wednesday showed inflation is proving stickier than expected.
The week's developments have raises the spectre of a UK recession later this year as a cost of living crisis bites consumers and the risk of mortgage chaos rises.
UK equities have clocked up just seven weeks of inflows in past 18 months, according to BofA.
Elsewhere, investors also pulled $13.9 billion from money market funds in the week to Wednesday.
Investment grade bonds saw their 12th week of inflows, the longest streak since October 2021, BofA said.
Investors sold tech stocks in the biggest volume for ten weeks, with outflows totalling $2 billion, while financials were the exact opposite, recording their largest inflow in ten weeks of $1 billion.
BofA said its bull and bear indicator - a measure of market sentiment - came in at 3.4 from 3.6, its lowest since early May.