Bank of America’s clients were net buyers of U.S. equities last week when the S&P 500 added as much as 5.85%. The inflows from the bank’s clients totaled $2.7 billion.
This inflow was primarily directed towards ETFs, marking the largest inflow since December 2022, while single stocks saw outflows for the second consecutive week.
Hedge funds and institutional clients were net buyers, with hedge funds experiencing their largest inflow since June, whereas retail clients turned into net sellers for the first time since September.
Technology and Financials were the leading sectors with outflows, with Technology experiencing outflows for the second week in a row. Consumer Discretionary led inflows, rebounding after experiencing selling in the prior week.
“We became more positive on cyclicals this spring, and our sector views have a cyclical tilt,” analysts said in a note.
ETF inflows were witnessed across all styles, including Blend, Growth, and Value ETFs, as well as Large Cap, Small Cap, and Broad Market ETFs. Value-style ETFs continued to experience inflows for the 19th consecutive week, while the bank’s clients sold Mid Cap ETFs.
Sector ETFs also had mixed performances, with most sectors seeing inflows. Technology ETFs led inflows, whereas Energy ETFs experienced outflows.
Corporate client buybacks accelerated during the week. However, these buybacks have consistently tracked below seasonal trends every week since May, according to analysts.
Year-to-date, corporate client buybacks as a percentage of S&P 500 market capitalization remained below 2022 highs at this time (0.16% compared to 0.20%).