Dec 20 Reuters Investors pulled a net 50.2 billion from U.S. equity funds in the week ending Dec. 18, according to LSEG Lipper data, the biggest net outflow since Sept. 2009, as they cashed in profits from a market rally ahead of the Fed policy decision.

The Fed cut rates as expected on Wednesday but projected fewerthanexpected interest rate cuts and higher inflation next year, while Chair Jerome Powell explicitly referred a need for caution, prompting a selloff in equity markets.

Investors withdrew a hefty 20.93 billion from U.S. largecap funds, halting a sixweeklong streak of net purchases. They also shed smallcap, multicap and midcap funds to the tune of 5.41 billion, 3.91 billion and 2.85 billion, respectively.

U.S. sectoral funds recorded net sales for the third consecutive week, totaling 1.53 billion, with the tech and healthcare sectors leading the outflows at 1.32 billion and 324 million, respectively. Meanwhile, the financial sector attracted 578 million in net purchases during the same period.

For the first time in 29 weeks, U.S. debt funds experienced a drop in demand, with investors withdrawing a net 2.1 billion. Specifically, U.S. government bond funds faced the largest weekly outflow since October 2, amounting to 2.23 billion. General domestic taxable fixed income and loan participation funds received inflows of 2.08 billion and 1.01 billion, respectively.

U.S. money market funds witnessed a fourth weekly outflow in five weeks, to the tune of 28.07…