Last week, Bank of America’s clients were net buyers of U.S. equities ($3.0B) for a second consecutive week, with inflows into single stocks and ETFs.
Traders focused on large and mid caps, while selling small caps. Hedge funds were net buyers, while retail and institutional clients were net sellers.
In terms of sectors, clients bought 7 of the 11 GICS sectors, with Tech & Communication Services leading inflows. Health Care, on the other hand, saw outflows after five consecutive weeks of inflows.
Cyclicals experienced inflows, while defensives saw outflows, with Consumer Discretionary leading cyclical sector inflows.
“We became more positive on cyclicals this spring, and our sector views have a cyclical tilt,” analysts said.
In the ETF space, there were inflows in Growth/Value and Large/Small cap ETFs, while Blend and Mid caps/Broad Market ETFs saw sales. Among sector ETFs, Energy ETFs led outflows, while Tech ETFs led inflows.
The noteworthy highlight is the largest weekly buyback in the bank’s data history (since 2010), with corporate client buybacks accelerating and tracking above seasonal levels for the first time since May.
Year-to-date, corporate client buybacks as a percentage of the S&P 500 market cap are below 2022 highs.