EBC Markets Briefing | Investors increasingly bullish on US equities before holiday

Asian stocks traded flat on Tuesday as investors awaited global inflation data and as Wall Street closed overnight for Memorial Day. Investors kept pouring money into shares on signs of cooling inflation.

According to Lipper data, global equity funds attracted $11.1 billion in inflows in the week ended May 22, a 22% increase from the previous week. US equity funds received the most of them – $9.9 billion.

Global high-yield bond funds saw inflows surge to $3.2 billion, while government bond funds attracted $1.2 billion. A looser financial condition expected usually benefits both stocks and bonds.

In the past two weeks, three equity strategists tracked by Yahoo Finance have boosted their year-end targets for the S&P 500. The median target on Wall Street for the benchmark index now sits at 5,250.

Earnings of Corporate America grew 6% in the first quarter of 2024, the highest rate of growth seen in nearly two years. The tech sector still drove the lion's share of the growth in the S&P 500.

According to Morningstar, stock markets could become increasingly volatile this summer given economic slowdown and pullbacks could provide an opportunity to move back to overweight equity positions.

The S&P 500 has rallied strongly since hitting a bottom in early April. By Friday, it is seen to stay in the current trading range between 5,250 and 5,350.

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