(Fixes typo in second paragraph)
TOKYO, Oct 12 (Reuters) - The value of Japanese mutual fund market rose for a fourth straight month in September as healthy investment gains, partly due to a modest recovery in share prices, helped offset the market's first net outflow since February, an industry body said on Friday.
The market saw fresh inflows into equities and property funds launched during the month, but relatively large funds shifted out from bond funds, resulting in a net outflow of 13.5 billion yen, after net inflows of 143.7 billion yen in August.
The overall value of investment trust funds, a type of mutual fund known as toushin, gained 168.4 billion yen, or 0.3 percent, to 58.75 trillion yen ($748.31 billion) in September from a month earlier, the Investment Trusts Association in Japan said.
"We've seen strong inflows between April and June, but inflows have slowed between July and September. It seems confidence of retail investors hasn't been fully restored," Fumio Inui, vice president of the association, told a news conference.
The market had suffered net outflows from equities funds for six straight months through March as uncertainty over global markets hung over the euro zone's intensifying debt problem, Inui said.
But, investors may have taken more risks in September as they shifted out of bond funds, which are made up of short-term money reserve funds, and into equity funds.
Net outflows from bond funds totaled 117.3 billion yen, while equity funds saw net inflows of 103.8 billion yen -- the largest inflows in three months, data released by the association showed.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei average
and broader Topix index
both posted slight gains in September.
Japan's mutual fund market is the second-largest in the Asia-Pacific region after Australia and the eighth-largest in the world.
Following is a breakdown of the data:
Net money flows (in yen): Sept Aug Overall: -13.5 bln +143.7 bln Stocks: +103.8 bln +26.9 bln Bonds: -117.3 bln +116.8 bln
Value of publicly placed toushin (in yen):
Sept Aug mth/mth Overall: 58.75 trln 58.58 trln +0.3% Stocks: 48.30 trln 48.01 trln +0.6% Bonds: 10.45 trln 10.57 trln -1.1%
Value of privately placed toushin (in yen):
Sept Aug mth/mth Overall: 28.83 trln 28.34 trln +1.7% Stocks: 28.28 trln 27.79 trln +1.8% Bonds: 545.6 bln 551.1 bln -1.0% Sept Aug mth/mth Value of ETFs: 3.54 trln 3.44 trln +2.9%
Assets in foreign currencies (in yen):
Sept Aug mth/mth Overall: 22.36 trln 22.52 trln -0.7% Stock: 3.58 trln 3.51 trln +2.0% Bond: 12.56 trln 12.63 trln -0.6% ($1 = 78.5100 Japanese yen)
(Reporting by Chikafumi Hodo; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
((chikafumi.hodo@thomsonreuters.com))
Keywords: JAPAN MUTUALFUNDS/