Biggest Junk-Bond ETFs Post Record Inflow in Dash Back to Risk

Investors trying to gauge the strength of the risk-on shift that gripped markets Thursday should look no further than two of the biggest high-yield credit exchange-traded funds.

As softer-than-anticipated inflation data sparked the best day for stocks in more than two years and sent around $13.4 billion into equity ETFs, products targeting junk bonds were seeing unprecedented demand.

The iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond ETF (ticker HYG) lured $1.15 billion in new cash for the strongest inflow since March and the sixth biggest on record. The SPDR Bloomberg High Yield Bond ETF (JNK) added more than $1 billion for its best-ever inflow.

It was the largest combined influx the two ETFs, which are the biggest in the category, have ever received.