Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) Securities said its clients were net buyers of US equities last week, with inflows totaling $4.9 billion, marking the second consecutive week of net purchases and the largest since mid-September.
Similar to the prior week, buying was focused on both single stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with single stock purchases concentrated entirely in large-cap names.
Institutional and private clients were net buyers for the second consecutive week and the first time in two weeks, respectively, while hedge fund clients turned into net sellers for the first time in four weeks.
Clients bought stocks in seven of the 11 sectors, with Technology leading inflows, driven by all major client groups.
Health Care and Communication Services also saw strong inflows, continuing a trend from the prior week. Financials and Energy recorded inflows as well, rebounding from outflows during the election week, with Financials seeing inflows for the first time in six weeks.
In contrast, Industrials, Materials, Real Estate, and Consumer Staples experienced outflows, with Materials extending its selling streak to four consecutive weeks.
In ETFs, clients allocated funds to seven sectors, with Consumer Discretionary seeing the largest inflows since February, followed by Materials and Financials. Health Care and Real Estate ETFs, however, faced the most significant outflows.
Meanwhile, corporate client buybacks slowed during the week but remained above seasonal norms as a percentage of S&P 500 market capitalization. Year-to-date, corporate buybacks as a proportion of market cap are on track to reach record highs, BofA highlights.
US stocks started this week on a positive note, with the Nasdaq and S&P 500 ending Monday's session higher, regaining some ground as investors looked ahead to Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA)'s upcoming quarterly results.
Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) also surged, buoyed by optimism over potential policy shifts under the incoming Trump administration.
Nvidia is set to release its third-quarter earnings on Wednesday, with investors focusing on chip demand and whether the AI-driven market enthusiasm that fueled much of this year's rally can be sustained.