NEW YORK/LONDON, July 2 (Reuters) - Hedge funds Marshall

Wace and Bridgewater Associates finished the first half of 2024

with double-digit returns, sources said on Tuesday, after a

period of strong performance in global markets was marred by a

tougher last few weeks for the broader industry.

Among industry leaders, the $66.6 billion Marshall Wace

returned a positive 10.4% return as of the end of June on its

flagship Eureka fund, and a positive 14.47% and 8.06% result on

its Market Neutral TOPS and Global Opportunities Funds,

respectively, to the end of June, said a source familiar with

the matter.

Bridgewater Associates' flagship fund was up 14.4% this year

through June 26, according to a source familiar with the matter.

On Monday, the hedge fund launched a $2 billion hedge fund

strategy that will apply artificial intelligence and machine

learning to investing.

Hedge funds are starting to disclose to clients their

performance in the first half of year, during which markets were

mostly strong though the last six to eight weeks have been more

challenging, a Morgan Stanley ( MS ) prime brokerage note dated

June 28 and seen by Reuters on Tuesday said.

Roiled markets particularly in China and France hurt

stock-picking hedge funds in June, said a note from Goldman

Sach's prime brokerage which also tracks hedge funds.

The wider stocks hedge funds returned a negative 0.19%,

hampered by wagers that stock prices would rise, said the note

by Goldman, though hedge funds made gains by jumping into

already moving markets and making money from the trend.

Some larger hedge funds kept pace with the MSCI's 47-country

world stock index, which rose roughly 11% since

January. The S&P 500 soared 15% in the first half of the

year, mainly booted by megacap stocks such as Nvidia ( NVDA ).

Elsewhere in the sector, the $12.5 billion Winton Capital

Management returned 10.1% in its multi strategy fund, which

includes different trading strategies as well as a 9.5% positive

return in its diversified trend trading program, said another

source.

Citadel's flagship hedge fund Wellington posted a gain of

8.1% in the first half, driven by positive performance of all

its investment strategies, a source familiar with the matter

said.

In June, the fund was up 0.94%. Ken Griffin's hedge fund,

which had $63 billion in assets in June 1, declined to comment

on the matter, which was first reported by the Financial Times.

Aspect Capital's Diversified fund, which trades

systematically, returned 14.27% for the year to end June, said a

source. The hedge fund currently oversees $9.1 billion of

assets, the source added.

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors' flagship fund Strategic

Partners ended the first half of the year up 10.3%, driven by

positive performances across different strategies and after

posting a gain of 1.9% last month, a source familiar with the

matter said.

Among the most important investment strategies so far this

year have been quantitative equities, tactical trading, global

macro, relative value and credit.

"With the first half of 2024 coming to a close, hedge funds

across most strategies continue to show gains in the mid-to-high

single-digits," said a Morgan Stanley ( MS ) prime brokerage

note dated June 28 and seen by Reuters on Tuesday.