Photo: Tracy O / CC BY-SA 2.0
Americans poured money into cash-like savings at the fastest pace in six months last week, a sign of caution ahead of the midterm elections and over heavy AI spending by big technology companies.
U.S. money-market funds took in a net $117.97 billion in the week ended November 4, the largest weekly inflow since May 6, according to LSEG Lipper data reported by Reuters.
For savers, the flows show investors parking cash in money-market funds – a common destination for money people want to keep accessible while earning yield – rather than committing it to stocks or bonds during an uncertain stretch.
It was not a retreat from stocks altogether. U.S. equity funds drew a net $14.81 billion in the same week, reversing the prior week’s $6.54 billion outflow, as falling energy prices and a pullback in Treasury yields from their October highs supported sentiment. Bond funds took in a net $7.31 billion, a four-week high.
The survey week ended Wednesday – before Thursday’s stock-market rout, when the Nasdaq, S&P 500 and Dow fell 5.52%, 4.36% and 3.44%. The caution showing up in the flows was tied to Tuesday’s midterm elections, in which Democrats won control of both the Senate and the House, and to concerns that regulatory scrutiny and continued AI cash burn at major tech companies could slow the sector’s expansion, Reuters reported.
Within equity funds, large-cap funds drew a net $10.35 billion while investors sold mid-cap and sector funds tied to technology, industrials and communication services. Financial and health-care funds attracted inflows.
JBizNews Desk | New York
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