(Adds details on mutual funds and ETFs, analyst and investor quotes, table, byline) By Trevor Hunnicutt NEW YORK, Feb 2 (Reuters) - Investors hurled the most cash at U.S.-based stock funds since the U.S. presidential election during the latest week, Lipper data showed on Thursday, restoring bets on a continuing rally even as it seemed to fade.
U.S.-based equity funds took in $13.8 billion during the week through Feb. 1, the biggest haul since the week immediately following Donald Trump's November election.
Investors choice of where to put the money also mimicked the post-election trade, with broad stock index exchange-traded funds taking in the majority of equity inflows alongside bank-sector funds, which attracted $1 billion during the week.
The difference now is that those funds, which leapt after the election, are no longer putting up large gains. The average equity fund tracked by Lipper fell 0.8 percent, while financial sector funds sank 1.3 percent during the week.
Stock ETFs pulled in $15.3 billion over the weekly period, while stock mutual funds posted cash withdrawals of $1.5 billion, Lipper noted.
ETFs draw money from hedge fund and other institutional traders, among others, but mutual funds are largely owned by retail investors.
"I wouldn't call it bottom-shopping but certainly buying the dip," said Tom Roseen, head of research services for Thomson Reuters Lipper. "The economy's strong." Trump, who took office last month, and his Republican Party have touted cutting taxes and financial regulation.
Banks are also hoping to profit from the three rate hikes forecast by the Federal Reserve for 2017 since their revenues are influenced by those rates.
Yet the Fed chose to keep rates steady on Wednesday, helping gold, which is sensitive to rising rates that could increase the opportunity cost of holding a non-yielding metal.
Precious metals commodity funds gathered $434 million and the most new cash since October.
Bond investors also appeared sanguine about risk during the week.
Taxable bond funds based in the United States attracted $2.8 billion during the week, with funds invested in the highest quality issuers taking in cash for the seventh straight week, the data showed.
"We've been putting people in corporate bond situations," said Andrew Brenner, a partner at National Alliance Capital Markets, a broker-dealer. "They got expensive but I still think they are in safe environment to be in." Less rate-sensitive categories within fixed income continue to be popular. Loan-participation funds, which adjust payouts as rates rise, took in $991 million in their 12th straight week of inflows. Inflation-protected bond funds attracted $160 million, their 8th straight week of inflows.
The following is a broad breakdown of the flows for the week, including mutual funds and exchange-traded funds: Sector Flow Chg % Assets Assets Count ($blns) ($blns) All Equity Funds 13.805 0.25 5,587.968 11,796 Domestic Equities 12.681 0.32 3,992.278 8,427 Non-Domestic Equities 1.125 0.07 1,595.690 3,369 All Taxable Bond Funds 2.846 0.12 2,308.481 5,917 All Money Market Funds -12.372 -0.54 2,300.576 1,025 All Municipal Bond Funds 0.014 0.00 368.463 1,400 (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Jennifer Ablan and Grant McCool)