TOKYO - Hedge funds returned 0.5 percent in February, led by North American managers, as global stock markets rose on signs of recovery in corporate earnings and signs that US interest rates will remain low, Eurekahedge Pte said.

The Eurekahedge Hedge Fund Index, tracking more than 2,000 funds, is down 0.3 percent this year through February, after posting its first monthly loss in four in January, the Singapore-based research firm said in a preliminary report on its website.

Almost 90 new funds started globally in the first quarter of this year, the report said.