Last week, which saw the S&P 500 decline by 3.0%, marked the fourth consecutive week of net selling of U.S. equities by clients, totaling $2.0 billion.
Bank of America said its clients sold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) during the week, however, for the first time in three weeks, they were net buyers of single stocks.
Institutional clients were the primary sellers, extending their selling streak to five weeks. Meanwhile, both hedge fund and retail clients shifted to net buying positions for the first time in seven weeks and two weeks, respectively.
Moreover, BofA said there was a “continued strength” in corporate buybacks, continuing to exceed typical seasonal levels for the seventh consecutive week.
“YTD, corp. client buybacks as a percentage of S&P 500 market cap (0.38%) are above '23 highs (0.32%) at this time,” said BofA in the note.