Fed gives Santa a green light to rally

On the surface, the third week of October was another good one for EPFR-tracked mutual funds and ETFs. Bond Funds took in another $17.2 billion and remained on track to set a second consecutive full-year inflow record, Equity Funds collectively absorbed $14.1 billion and Alternative Funds posted their third largest weekly inflow in over two decades.

Going into the second half of October, investors continued to tune out the noise surrounding Sino-US trade relations and buy into the strong year-to-date performance delivered by both countries’ stock markets.

In the wake of the Federal Reserve’s first interest rate cut of 2025, benchmark US equity indexes surged to fresh record highs.