US equity funds see outflows on rate-cut uncertainty, AI worries

Feb 13 (Reuters) - U.S. equity funds recorded outflows in the week to February 11 on worries over AI-related corporate spending and as a stronger jobs report dampened expectations of Federal Reserve rate cuts.

Investors exited a net $1.42 billion worth of U.S. equity funds during the week in their first weekly net sales since January 21, LSEG Lipper data showed.

The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC fell 2.03% on Thursday amid renewed concerns over potential disruption from artificial intelligence across sectors, including software, legal services and wealth management.

Investors, meanwhile, awaited January inflation data due on Friday for fresh cues on the outlook for interest rates.

U.S. large- and mid-cap equity funds recorded outflows of $12.34 billion and $787 million, respectively, during the week, while small-cap funds bucked the trend with net inflows of $2.01 billion.

Investors pumped $13.37 billion into U.S. bond funds as they extended the recent run of net purchases into a sixth consecutive week.

Short-to-intermediate investment-grade funds, short-to-intermediate government and treasury funds and general domestic taxable fixed income funds stood out with $4.29 billion, $3.09 billion and $2.7 billion, respectively, in net inflows.

Investors, meanwhile, withdrew $25.83 billion from U.S. money market funds after two successive weeks of net inflows.