US equity fund inflows rise on earnings optimism, AI boost.

U.S. equity funds ⁠attracted ⁠the largest weekly net ⁠investment in four weeks through April 22, ​driven by upbeat corporate earnings results and optimism over AI-linked ‌business deals.

Investors bought a ‌net $27.98 billion of U.S. equity funds in their ⁠largest ⁠weekly purchase since roughly $36.94 billion net acquisitions in the ​week through March 25.

Upbeat earnings from major banks and food and beverage company PepsiCo boosted risk appetite. LSEG data for ​134 S&P 500 companies showed that first-quarter results for ⁠82% ⁠of companies topped their ⁠mean ​analyst estimates.

Amazon on Monday said that it will invest up ​to $25 billion in ⁠Anthropic, bolstering demand for the technology sector funds.

Sectoral funds drew $7.1 billion, a third successive weekly inflow, with tech, industrial and financial sectors gaining $5.03 billion, $994 million and $991 million, ⁠respectively and leading the weekly net purchases.

Investors also pumped $1.47 billion ⁠in U.S. value funds and $4.92 billion - the biggest amount in five weeks - in growth funds.

Demand for bond funds revived after a $841 million of weekly net sales as these funds attracted approximately $3.4 billion of inflows in the week.

General domestic taxable fixed income funds, short-to-intermediate investment-grade funds and municipal debt funds ⁠saw net purchases of $1.91 billion, $1.28 billion and $1.02 billion, respectively, in the week.

Investors, meanwhile, ditched money market funds of a net $16.1 billion, after roughly $177.72 billion of ​net sales the prior week.

Lincoln International filed ⁠for ⁠an initial public offering in the ⁠United States on Friday, setting the stage for the rare stock market flotation ​of an investment bank.

The IPO market has heated up over the past few days as concerns over a protracted Middle ‌East conflict eased, with several big ‌offerings pricing after a brief March lull.

“U.S. IPO activity hasn’t been impacted from geopolitical uncertainties. This de-coupling ...underlines the ⁠potential of the ⁠IPO asset class for investors and service providers,” IPOX CEO Josef Schuster ​told Reuters.

“A golden age for U.S. IPOs has arrived.”

The Chicago, Illinois-based company reported a net income of $214.1 million on revenue of $783.8 million in 2025, compared with net income of $163.6 million on revenue of $578.7 million a year earlier, according to the filing.

The ​listing would position the firm alongside boutique investment banks such as Moelis and Houlihan Lokey that have ⁠gone public ⁠in New York since 2010.

Founded ⁠in 1996 by ​Jim Lawson and Rob Barr, Lincoln International is an investment banking advisory firm that specializes in private ​capital markets, offering advice to ⁠buyout firms, private credit investors and privately held companies.

“We see particularly strong demand for U.S.-domiciled deals in specialty industries and believe this will positively affect the IPO of Lincoln International,” Schuster said.

Lincoln International and some of its stockholders plan to sell shares in the offering.

The value of global dealmaking has rebounded in recent weeks after a ⁠sharp slump following the start of the war in Iran, as boardrooms shrug off volatility ⁠and press ahead with larger deals.

Top Wall Street executives expect dealmaking to continue accelerating in 2026, underpinned by monetary easing, artificial intelligence investment and a more balanced regulatory regime in the U.S.