Last week, during which the S&P 500 declined by 2.5%, BofA clients recorded the first week of equity outflows since July.
Clients were net sellers of U.S. equities, totaling $0.4 billion. Notably, the outflows were observed in both single stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), according to analysts.
Traders sold both large-cap and small-cap stocks, while they increased their positions in mid-cap stocks. Institutional clients led the sales, representing the largest sales by this group since July.
Retail clients and hedge funds, on the other hand, continued their trend of being net buyers for the 6th and 5th consecutive weeks, respectively.
Clients sold positions in 7 of the 11 GICS sectors, with Technology & Communication Services (TMT) leading the sales.
Real Estate attracted inflows for the second consecutive week, marking the sixth consecutive week of inflows, and these inflows were the largest since May 2022.
Cyclicals experienced outflows for the second consecutive week, despite having seen more positive flows than defensive sectors for most weeks since early August.
“We became more positive on cyclicals this spring, and our sector views have a cyclical tilt,” analysts wrote in a note.
While ETFs are concerned, BofA’s clients sold Blend and Large Cap/Broad Market ETFs and bought Growth/Value ETFs and SMID Caps ETFs.
Notably, Value ETFs saw inflows for the 18th consecutive week.
While corporate client buybacks accelerated last week, these are still tracking below seasonal trends every week since May, analysts concluded.