SECURITIES

Mutual Fund Purchases Soar: Total purchases of stock and bond mutual funds totaled $25.2 billion in October, up sharply from $20.9 billion in September and $10.3 billion in October a year ago, the Investment Company Institute said. The stock market’s continuing surge, along with falling interest rates on money market funds, attracted more investors to longer-term funds, the ICI said. For the first 10 months of this year, total purchases were $184.3 billion compared to $124.5 billion in the same period of 1990, according to the ICI.