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Historically low interest rates and the expectation of strong economic recovery this year after mass vaccination continue to heat the appetite of investors to risky assets. Another evidence of the excitement that covered world financial markets was data on the influx of funds to stock funds. For a week to February 10, it amounted to a record $ 58 billion, according to EPFR Global .

From the industry point of view, the focus of attention was technological funds where the net-flowing amount amounted to $ 5.4 billion-for them it is the maximum week in the history of data collection. In the regional category, US shares funds received the lion's share of funds - $ 36.3 billion.

The American stock indices S&P 500 and NASDAQ Composite added 0.5% on Friday and completed a week at record marks. Since the beginning of February, S&P 500 has already grown by almost 6%, and NASDAQ - by 7.8% thanks to, in particular, “the constant promises of the federal reserve system to maintain a soft monetary policy during recovery,” says DEUTSCHE BANK Jim Reid.

Investors also invested $ 13.1 billion in world bond funds and withdrew $ 10.6 billion from the funds of the money market. Bank of America noted that 63% of the assets of wealthy customers who are served in his division of private banking services are now invested in shares - and this is also a record indicator.

The rapid influx of money for stock markets, many of which are already very overheating in terms of value, causes anxiety of a number of analysts and investors. “The main investment idea in the financial markets in recent months has been quite simple: it was associated with optimism as a result of vaccination, the upcoming restoration of the economy and stimulating state policy,” says Paul O'Connor, Director of the Janus Henderson Investors strategy. “But in the near future, everything may not be so simple.”

Although “the risks associated with cyclic development and state lords are always present, the readiness for correction in the market in 2021 should be especially high,” says John Normand, the director of the fundamental strategy of JPMorgan Chase . The cost of shares and bonds is now “higher than average in all parameters”, he warns.

The phenomenal rally is fueled by retail investors in the United States, who flooded the stock market, making transactions without commissions through the application of such brokers as Robinhood and TD America . The Broker company Charles Schwab reported that in January it opened 1095 new accounts - more than three times more than January 2020.

Bull moods are fueled not only by unfolding vaccination, but also by expectations that the plan for stimulating the economy proposed by President Joe Biden will help her recover faster, Jim Rid from Deutsche Bank notes. The specific parameters of the plan are now discussed in the Congress. Two -thirds of the 450 professional investors, who recently interviewed Deutsche Bank , believe that the total packet size will exceed $ 1.3 trillion, about 35% - that $ 1.6 trillion.

But the preparation of another fiscal stimulus, in addition to packages of $ 2.2 trillion, approved in the spring, and $ 900 billion - at the end of last year, gives rise to serious concerns regarding the possible overheating of the economy and a jump in inflation, Rid notes.

Euphoria also reigns in the bond markets, where the rally pushes profitability to all lower historical levels. In search of the opportunity to earn investors, more decisively investing in more risky assets. The profitability of bonds with a speculative rating in the United States last week for the first time in history fell below 4%. And in Europe, Spain, when placing 50-year-old bonds on Tuesday for 5 billion euros, received orders for 65 billion euros-investors were in a hurry to get a positive profitability. The coupon for these bonds amounted to 1.45%, while during the previous release of Spanish 50-year-old papers in 2016 it was much higher-3.45%.

On the same day, the profitability of 10-year government bonds of Italy for the first time in history fell below 0.5%. At the auction on Friday, it already amounted to 0.42%: Italian bonds grew over a week to wait for the former president of the European Central Bank Mario Draga will become the new prime minister of the country. On Friday, the DRGA introduced the president of Italy to the government of national unity, supported by almost all major political parties.

The pan -European stock index Stoxx Europe 600 increased on Friday by 0.6%, and from the beginning of February - by 4.6%.

Translated by Mikhail Overchenko

A series of primary placements of shares with technological companies and online stores allowed the IPO European IPO market to show the best beginning of the year since 2015-both by the number and the size of transactions. According to Refinitiv, this year 16 companies attracted 8.4 billion euros. By the amount of the funds raised, this is the second result since 1998, when the relevant data began to be collected.

World stock funds received a record $ 58 billion in one week