US equity fund inflows ease to a six-week low.

U.S. equity fund ⁠inflows ⁠ebbed to a ⁠six-week low in the week through ​April 29 as investors concerned over a surge in ‌crude oil prices exercised ‌caution ahead of a monetary policy ⁠decision ⁠by the Federal Reserve.

According to LSEG Lipper data, investors ​bought just $911 million worth of U.S. equity funds in their smallest weekly net purchase since March ​18.

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates steady last ⁠week, but ⁠three board members ⁠voted ​to drop the central bank’s easing bias, adding a ​layer of uncertainty ⁠around the Fed’s policy direction.

The S&P 500, meanwhile, hit a record high of 7,272.52 last Friday, bolstered by upbeat earnings from several ⁠major U.S. tech companies.

Investors pumped $1.43 billion into technology stocks, ⁠extending a run of net purchases into a fourth successive week. They also offloaded $1.06 billion from healthcare funds.

U.S. bond funds saw an uptick in demand as inflows surged to $4.87 billion, from approximately $3.41 billion in the prior week.

U.S. government bond funds, high yield bond ⁠funds and short-to-intermediate investment-grade funds attracted $2.73 billion, $1.97 billion and $1.48 billion, respectively.

Money market funds, meanwhile, faced a third successive weekly outflow to ​the tune of $13.02 billion.

Oil prices spiked by around 5% on Monday after Iran ⁠said it had turned back a U.S. warship trying to enter the Strait of Hormuz, though the U.S. denied Iranian ​reports it had been struck by missiles. That came after President Donald Trump said the U.S. would begin assisting ships stranded in the strait.

Meanwhile, the yen briefly jumped against the dollar again, with ‌traders on the lookout for further buying from ‌Japan’s Ministry of Finance after suspected intervention last week.

I’ll get into that and more below.

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Before the reports of a U.S. warship being turned ​back from the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, President Trump had on Sunday described a plan to free stranded vessels in the strait as a “humanitarian gesture”. He left the mechanics of the operation vague, but U.S. Central Command gave a sense of its scale, saying it would provide 15,000 military personnel and more than 100 land and sea-based aircraft.

Oil markets spiked on the reported U.S. warship incident, with ​Brent trading at around $112/bbl and WTI at around $106/bbl. Iran had previously warned that any foreign armed forces entering the strait would be attacked.

Meanwhile, Iranian state media ⁠have reported ⁠that Washington has sent a response, ⁠via Pakistan, to Tehran’s 14-point proposal to ​end the war - a plan that Trump said on Saturday he was likely to reject.

The lack of progress on a peace deal - with a key ​sticking point being the timing of nuclear talks - ⁠means the broader stalemate and disruption in the Gulf look set to continue for now.

Elsewhere, the yen strengthened abruptly again on Monday, touching 155.7 against the dollar before paring its gains. That’s fuelling speculation of another round of Japanese buying after last week’s apparent intervention, which may have seen the authorities spend up to $35 billion to prop up the flagging currency.