GRAPHIC-Global equity funds attract inflows for sixth week on earnings optimism

May 4 (Reuters) - Global equity funds drew ​inflows for ⁠a sixth straight week through ​April 29, as optimism over strong first-quarter earnings outweighed investor concerns about the Middle East ​conflict ‌and higher oil prices.

According to LSEG Lipper data, global equity funds ⁠attracted a net $18.91 billion during the week, ⁠following a hefty $48.67 billion of net ​inflows the previous week.

The MSCI World Index hit a record high of 1,084.69 last week after several major U.S. tech companies and South ​Korean chipmaker ‌Samsung Electronics reported robust results.

LSEG data covering 525 MSCI World constituents showed that about 72% of companies beat analysts' average profit estimates for the first quarter.

Asian equity funds saw a record $10.82 billion weekly ​net inflow, driven by $8.27 billion into Japanese funds and $2.31 billion into South ‌Korean domestic funds.

European and U.S. equity funds recorded net weekly inflows of $5.83 billion and $911 million, respectively.

The tech ‌sector attracted a net $3.48 billion over the week, lifting total monthly inflows to a net $22.9 billion.

Global bond funds were popular for a ​fourth successive week, drawing a net $14.19 billion.

Government bond funds attracted a net $3.07 billion, ‌the largest inflow in three weeks, while high-yield bond funds took in a net $2.44 billion.

Money market funds posted a third straight week of outflows, with ⁠investors ⁠withdrawing a net $36.5 billion.

Investors also pulled a ‌net $1.46 billion from gold and other precious metals commodity funds, snapping a four-week run of ​inflows.

In emerging markets, ​equity funds saw net outflows of $372 million after ‌three weeks of gains, while bond funds attracted a net $999 million for a fourth consecutive week of inflows, data for 28,889 funds showed.