U.S. taxable bond funds attract cash for fourth straight week: Lipper

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Investors poured $1.8 billion into U.S.-based taxable bond funds during the latest , marking the fourth straight week of inflows into the funds, Lipper data showed on Thursday.

Stock funds, by contrast, posted outflows of $133 million during the week through Wednesday, a third straight week of withdrawals, according to the research service’s data.

Investors have been on a debt-buying binge this year. U.S. fund investors snapped up $203 billion in bond funds during the first half of 2017, compared to $136 billion in stocks, according to data from the Investment Company Institute, a trade group.

“We have an over-valued market as far as equities go, very low interest rates and the possibility for rising rates,” which hurt bond prices, said Tom Roseen, head of research services at Thomson Reuters’ Lipper unit. “There appears to be no place to hide.”

Equity funds focused abroad continued to gain at the expense of domestic stock funds, which posted $2.2 billion in withdrawals. International stock funds pulled in $2.1 billion, according to Lipper.

Healthcare sector funds posted $612 million in outflows during the week, their largest withdrawals since January, as the Senate failed in its quest to dismantle the healthcare law known as Obamacare.