U.S.-based equity funds in the week ended Wednesday posted inflows of $354 million, according to Lipper.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Trump administration on Monday strengthened an executive order barring U.S. investors from buying securities of alleged Chinese military-controlled companies, following disagreement among U.S. agencies about how tough to make the directive.

Outsized bets on large U.S. technology companies and emerging cryptocurrencies fueled the year's top-performing U.S. mutual fund and exchange-traded funds as the coronavirus pandemic upended global markets, while funds that bet on oil and gas companies fell nearly 100%, according to data from fund-tracker Morningstar.

Bank of Japan (BOJ) policymakers were divided on how far to go in tweaking its stimulus programme, with some calling for an overhaul of its strategy for achieving 2% inflation, a summary of views voiced at the December rate review showed.

Bank of Japan policymakers kicked off discussions in October on ways to make their massive stimulus programme more sustainable, with one member calling for a tweak to the bank's huge purchases of risky assets, minutes of the meeting showed on Wednesday.

Global money market funds saw big outflows in the week ended Dec. 16, Refinitiv Lipper showed, as investors increased their exposure in equities and bonds, taking higher risks.

MSCI Inc will cut seven Chinese firms from some of its global indexes, it said on Tuesday, the third major index publisher to do so following U.S. restrictions on owning the companies.

Global money market funds saw huge inflows in the week ended Dec. 9, Refinitiv Lipper showed, as investors withdrew some money from equity funds after extensively buying them in the past few weeks.

U.S.-based equity funds posted a $7.7 billion net outflow in the latest week, ending a four-week streak of inflows, according to Lipper.

Investors are buying assets to protect their portfolios from a potential rise in inflation, even though many are not forecasting a dramatic surge in consumer prices.