GRAPHIC-Global equity funds attract biggest inflow in five weeks as concerns around AI ease

Feb 20 (Reuters) - Global equity funds received their strongest inflows in five weeks in the seven days to February 18, as easing concerns over artificial intelligence stocks and investor rotation into other sectors supported demand, ?while renewed hopes for Federal Reserve rate cuts ?lifted sentiment toward U.S. growth.

Investors poured $36.33 billion into global equity funds during the week, marking the strongest ?weekly inflow since January 14, LSEG Lipper data showed. U.S. consumer price data ?released last Friday showed inflation rose 2.4% year-on-year in January, ?close to expectations ?of a 2.5% increase, reinforcing market bets on two Federal Reserve rate cuts this year. Leading regional inflows, ?European funds attracted $17.22 billion, broadly in line ?with the previous week's $17.68 billion, supported by the STOXX 600 index climbing to a record high.

U.S. funds recorded net inflows ?of $11.77 billion after a $1.48 billion outflow ?the previous ?week, while Asian funds drew a net $3.8 billion.

Among sectoral funds, industrials, metals and mining, and technology were in demand, attracting weekly net inflows ?of $1.82 billion, $818 million and $696 million, respectively.

Global bond funds recorded a ?seventh straight week of net inflows, attracting $19.79 billion.

Short-term bond funds drew $5 billion, the highest weekly inflow since December 24. Euro-denominated bond funds and corporate bond funds also attracted net purchases of $2.54 billion and $2.35 billion, respectively.

Money market funds received $7.05 ?billion, extending ?inflows to a fourth consecutive week.

Gold and precious metals ?funds, however, saw net outflows of $1.86 billion, snapping a five-week streak of ?inflows.

In emerging markets, equity funds attracted $8.1 billion, lifting year-to-date inflows to $56.52 billion. Bond funds also drew $1.94 billion in a second straight week of net purchases, data for 28,639 funds showed. "While the recent underperformance of U.S. tech stocks relative to emerging markets echoes the eve of the dotcom bust, we think the AI rally still has a ?bit further to run," said Elias Hilmer, market economist at Capital Economics. "That said, if the AI bubble bursts, we think equities in EMs would hold ?up better than in the ?U.S."

(Reporting by Gaurav Dogra and Patturaja Murugaboopathy in Bengaluru; ?Editing by Harikrishnan Nair)