Foreigners Are Buying US Stocks at Record Pace Despite Trade War

As Donald Trump unleashed his trade war, mused about annexing Canada and generally roiled global sentiment toward the US last spring, worries mounted that foreign buyers would boycott American financial products.

When it comes to US equities, the opposite happened. Foreign purchases rose to a record in the second quarter, according to Federal Reserve Board data. Demand has been so brisk that stocks now make up nearly 32% of foreigners allocations to US assets — breaking a record that’s been in place since 1968.