By Nell Mackenzie and Anirban Sen

LONDON (Reuters) -Hedge funds returned 1.3% in September, with managers in Europe, Asia and the Middle East outperforming their North American rivals, according to a JPMorgan client note on Thursday, seen by Reuters on Friday.

Global equities in September climbed 3.4%. An index of developed market sovereign bonds rose around 0.7% last month.

The JPMorgan note, which tracks hedge fund trading, said positioning in U.S. stocks was only “somewhat bullish,” indicating an expectation for equities to rise.

Crowding in the biggest “Magnificent Seven” tech stocks, which include Apple, Amazon and Nvidia, remained near historical highs, the note said.

In Europe, stock-pickers tended to bet that equities would rise. But multi-strategy funds – those that trade man

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