Double-digit gains on the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets last month made Greater China equity the top performing fund category in April, according to data released Monday by Morningstar Research Inc., a Canadian subsidiary of Chicago-based independent investment research provider Morningstar, Inc.

Seventeen of the 42 Morningstar Canada fund indices increased during the month, including seven that increased by 2% or more, while three of the fund indices that lost ground decreased by more than 2%.

Funds in the Greater China equity category were the best performers, as the fund index that tracks this category increased by 9.5% in April. Both the Shanghai and Hong Kong stock markets posted double-digit gains for the month, but a strengthening Canadian dollar versus major Asian currencies mitigated the effect for Canadian investors. The Asia Pacific ex-Japan equity fund index was also a top performer with a 2.9% increase.

Funds that concentrate on the energy sector had their best monthly return of the past year with a 7.4% increase — the second-best performance among all fund indices. The index’s monthly results have been negative in eight of the past 12 months, and it was the overall worst performer for the 2014 calendar year. Rebounding energy stocks, combined with strong gains in the basic materials sector, resulted in the natural resources equity fund index posting the third-best result with a 6.8% increase.

Funds in the Canadian equity category posted an aggregate increase of 1.7% in April, underperforming the S&P/TSX Composite Index’s 2.4% gain for the month. Among other domestic equity fund categories, Canadian small/mid cap equity and Canadian dividend & income equity increased 2.6% and 1.5%, respectively.

The worst-performing fund indices were the ones that track the U.S. equity and U.S. small/mid cap equity categories, with decreases of 3.2% and 5.1%, respectively. Stock markets in the United States were flat to slightly positive, but currency effects negatively impacted these funds, as the U.S. dollar depreciated by 4.4% during the month versus its Canadian counterpart.

All seven fund indices that track fixed-income categories had negative results in April. The best performer among the group was the high yield fixed income fund index with a 0.1% decrease, while the worst performer was the Canadian long term fixed income fund index with a 2.7% decrease.

Morningstar Canada’s preliminary fund performance figures are based on change in funds’ net asset values per share during the month, and do not necessarily include end-of-month income distributions. Final performance figures will be publishednext week.