Cailian Press reported on August 7 (Editor: Ma Lan) that since April this year, the US stock market has unexpectedly risen amid the threat of tariffs and the shadow of inflation. However, as the tariff war continues to escalate, global investors' concerns about the US economy are growing.
Data released by Japan's Ministry of Finance on Thursday showed that domestic investors withdrew a net 752.1 billion yen (about 5.1 billion US dollars) from foreign stocks in the week ending August 2, reversing two consecutive weeks of net buying.
Japanese investors also sold 526.3 billion yen of overseas long-term bonds for the second consecutive week, a reversal that highlights their cautious attitude toward the U.S. economic outlook and the new round of trade tariffs.
Despite this, overseas stock markets have still attracted 3.37 trillion yen in Japanese investment this year, compared with a net inflow of 915.8 billion yen in the same period last year, a year-on-year increase of 267%.
Are British investors also withdrawing? Driven by a disappointing US July jobs report and a new round of punitive tariffs imposed by the US on dozens of countries, the MSCI World Index plummeted 2.54% last week, its biggest drop in three months.
According to Calastone data, British investors withdrew 330 million pounds (about 440 million U.S. dollars) from U.S. stock funds in July. North American stock funds experienced the first monthly net outflow of funds since October last year.
Edward Glyn, global head of markets at Calastone, said the net outflow from U.S. stocks reflected British investors' sobering view of valuations and geopolitical caution. The U.S. economy is slowing, and tariffs have further dampened consumer confidence.
As August approaches, global investors are closely watching the US stock market. Historically, August is typically characterized by lower trading volumes and increased market volatility, making it a challenging period for both institutional and retail investors.
On the other hand, Trump's tariff policy entered the appeals court process at the end of July. Some analysts believe that the appeals court is likely to uphold the previous federal district court ruling and declare the tariff policy invalid, thus sending the dispute to the US Supreme Court. This legal development may also increase volatility in US stocks.