Investors end 13 straight weeks of U.S. fund withdrawals

By Trevor Hunnicutt

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors sweetened on financial markets in early January and ended a 13-week retreat from U.S.-based funds, the Investment Company Institute (ICI) said on Wednesday.

U.S.-based stock mutual funds and exchange-traded funds attracted a net $11.3 billion during the week ended Jan. 9, while bonds gathered $6.3 billion and commodities took in $711 million, according to the trade group.

Investors fretting over slowing global economic growth and restrictive U.S. Federal Reserve monetary policy drained funds in the closing days of 2018. But they have responded positively in the new year as Fed officials have repeatedly suggested that a pause in rate hikes could be appropriate.

Investors pulled $98 billion from U.S.-based stock funds and $77 billion from bonds in December, a calendar-month record, preliminary Lipper estimates show.

January is typically a stronger month than December for fund sales as people reinvest end-of-year capital gains distributions and annual contribution caps reset on U.S. retirement accounts.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; editing by Steve Orlofsky)

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