Investor demand for equity extended its unabated growth over the past week with capital flows in the US and Japan accelerating to multi-week highs on investments in fixed-income funds, BofA reported on Friday.

While global equity funds raised $ 18.7 billion in the week to Wednesday, US-focused funds raised $ 9 billion - the largest inflow in four weeks. Inflows into Japanese equities were the strongest in eight weeks at $1.5 billion, BofA said after analyzing EPFR data.

Fixed income inflows fell to $ 5.6 billion, the lowest level since March, with high yield bond funds experiencing the largest outflow in eight weeks - $ 2.3 billion - on the days when unexpectedly high inflation figures were released in the US.

During this period, gold funds recorded a weekly inflow of $200 million for the first time in four weeks, while investors withdrew $ 30.3 billion from cash funds which indicated increased anxiety about how long dovish Fed stance will last despite inflation pressures.