US equity funds receive inflows in the week to Jan 5

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: People wearing surgical masks walk past a screen showing Nikkei index outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan February 3, 2020. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon

(Reuters) - U.S. equity funds received large inflows for a third straight week in the seven days to Jan. 5, although the rate of buying slowed as Federal Reserve minutes raised expectations interest rates would rise more quickly than previously thought.

Refinitiv Lipper data found investors purchased U.S. equity funds of $8.98 billion, down from the previous week's inflow of $18.55 billion.

For a related graphic on Fund flows: US equities bonds and money market funds, click https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/dwvkrkzaapm/Fund%20flows%20US%20equities%20bonds%20and%20money%20market%20funds.jpg

The S&P 500 and the Dow marked a record high earlier this week and Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) became the first company to achieve market capitalisation of $3 trillion.

The optimism was dented after minutes of the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting raised expectations of a faster-than-expected rise in U.S. interest rates.

Among sector funds, financials, real estate and healthcare attracted $1.19 billion, $0.65 billion and $0.36 billion respectively. In contrast, tech funds witnessed outflows of $0.59 billion.

For a related graphic on Fund flows: US equity sector funds, click https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/jnpwejawrpw/Fund%20flows%20US%20equity%20sector%20funds.jpg

U.S. value funds lured $1.21 billion and posted a third straight week of inflows, while growth funds faced outflows of $712 million after two successive weeks of net buying.

For a related graphic on Fund flows: US growth and value funds, click https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/zgvomanrevd/Fund%20flows%20US%20growth%20and%20value%20funds.jpg

U.S. bond funds attracted $9.42 billion in net buying, their biggest weekly inflow since Sept. 1, 2021.

Investors purchased U.S. taxable bond funds of $7.8 billion, 65% up from the previous week, while municipal bond funds saw net buying worth $1.13 billion, the largest in four months.

For a related graphic on Fund flows: US bond funds, click https://fingfx.thomsonreuters.com/gfx/mkt/akpezeoalvr/Fund%20flows%20US%20bond%20funds.jpg

U.S. money market funds saw outflows of $1.44 billion after purchases of $34.6 billion in the previous week.