Oil panic triggers mass exodus from stocks and bonds, global equity funds suffer the worst outflow in 12 weeks

⑴ As of the week ending March 11, global equity funds experienced an outflow of $7.05 billions, marking the largest weekly outflow since the week ending December 17, 2025. Geopolitical conflicts have led to disruptions in oil supply, intensifying market concerns about inflation and global economic growth. ⑵ Brent crude traded above $100 per barrel on Friday, with traders stating that the global oil market is facing the largest supply disruption in history. Wall Street's "fear index" VIX reached 28.15 at the beginning of this month, hitting its highest level since November last year. ⑶ U.S. equity funds saw an outflow of approximately $7.77 billions during the week, continuing the net selling trend of $21.91 billions from the previous week. Investors also sold $7.71 billions in European funds, but made a net investment of $6.15 billions in Asia. ⑷ In terms of sectors, equity industry funds saw a net sell-off of $2.71 billions, with financial and healthcare funds experiencing outflows of $2.31 billions and $1.31 billions respectively, while industrial sector funds attracted a net inflow of $1.31 billions against the trend. ⑸ The deputy head of multi-asset solutions at abrdn Investments stated that the recent decline in North Asian stock markets seems disproportionate to fundamentals. Once geopolitical risks stabilize, positions and sentiment may quickly reverse, and the region could see a sharp recovery. Meanwhile, global bond fund inflows slowed to a ten-week low, high-yield bonds experienced the largest weekly outflow since mid-April 2025, and money market funds attracted inflows for the seventh consecutive week, with risk aversion dominating the market.