Aug 23 (Reuters) – U.S. equity funds saw significant inflows in the seven days to Aug. 21, supported by speculation the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in September and easing concerns about a possible slowdown in economic growth.

Investors bought a net $5.97 billion worth of U.S. equities during the week, their largest weekly net purchase since July 17, according to LSEG data.

Investors bought $5.19 billion worth of U.S. large-cap funds, their biggest weekly net purchase since July 24. They also acquired $1.77 billion worth of small-cap funds, but sold $1.29 billion and $807 million worth of mid-cap and multi-cap funds, respectively.

Among sector funds, consumer staples, financials, consumer discretionary and technology saw significant inflows of $768 million, $589 million, $309 million and $257 million, respectively.

Meanwhile, investors withdrew about $620 million from the utilities sector, ending a five-week buying trend.

Demand for U.S. bond funds continued for the twelfth consecutive week, with investors allocating a net approximately $4.43 billion to these funds.

U.S. Treasury bonds funds secured a whopping $2.26 billion, the fourth consecutive weekly inflow. High-yield and general domestic taxable fixed-income funds also saw notable net purchases of $1.83 billion and $865 million, respectively.

Meanwhile, money market funds remained popular for the third week in a row, as investors poured about $19.19 billion into these funds.

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