Global equity funds see highest outflows since December on oil shock fears

March 13 (Reuters) - Global equity funds recorded the largest weekly outflows since mid-December in the seven days to March 11 as disruptions to oil supplies stemming from ‌the ongoing U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran stoked concerns about inflation and global economic growth.

According ‌to LSEG Lipper data, global equity funds had $7.05 billion worth of outflows for the week, the largest since the week ​through December 17, 2025 that had outflows worth $46.68 billion.

Brent crude traded above $100 a barrel on Friday as global oil markets grappled with what traders described as the largest oil supply disruption in history, with shipping in the Gulf and the narrow Strait of Hormuz coming to a near-standstill.

The CBOE Volatility ‌Index, often referred to as ⁠Wall Street's "fear gauge", but more accurately an indicator of market uncertainty, hit 28.15 earlier this month, its highest level since November.

U.S. equity funds saw approximately $7.77 ⁠billion worth of outflows after $21.91 billion worth net weekly sales in the prior week. Investors also divested $7.71 billion worth of European funds but invested $6.15 billion into Asia.

Equity sectoral funds saw $2.71 billion worth of net sales, ​with ​investors ditching financial and healthcare funds worth $2.31 billion and $1.31 ​billion, respectively. Industrial sector funds, however, ‌attracted inflows of $1.31 billion.

"The recent decline in North Asian equity markets appears disproportionate relative to underlying fundamentals," said Ray Sharma-Ong, deputy global head of multi-asset Solutions, at Aberdeen Investments.

"When geopolitical risks stabilise, positioning and sentiment could reverse quickly, potentially leading to a sharp recovery in the region."

Weekly net investments in global bond funds cooled to a 10-week low of $5.72 billion.

The high yield segment recorded $3.17 ‌billion worth of net sales, the largest weekly outflow ​since mid-April 2025. Weekly inflows into short-term bond funds, meanwhile, ​surged to a four-week high of $5.75 ​billion.

Money market funds attracted $6.93 billion, logging inflows for a seventh successive week, as ‌investors scrambled for safety.

Investors, however, divested a ​net $2.84 billion worth of ​gold and precious metals commodity funds, which logged net weekly sales for three weeks in the past four.

Emerging markets also came under selling pressure as investors exited approximately $2.69 billion ​worth of equity funds after an ‌11-week-long streak of net buys. Bond funds had net weekly outflows of $656 million, data ​for a combined 28,809 funds showed.

(Reporting by Gaurav Dogra; with additional reporting by ​Patturaja Murugaboopathy in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara)