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Investing.com -- Clients of Bank of America Securities turned net sellers of U.S. equities last week, marking the first weekly outflow in five weeks as the S&P 500 dropped 2.6%.
The selling was driven primarily by single stocks, with equity exchange-traded funds (ETFs) also seeing net outflows, according to the latest flow data from BofA.
Institutional clients led the selling, extending their streak to three consecutive weeks. Hedge funds also joined the retreat after two weeks of buying.
In contrast, private clients resumed net purchases after a brief pause, now logging 24 positive weeks out of the past 25—a record in BofA’s dataset.
Corporate buybacks also slowed, falling below typical seasonal levels for the third straight week. “After peaking at the end of earnings season, buybacks typically continue to decelerate between now and late June,” the bank’s report said.
Sector flows highlighted a sharp divergence. Tech stocks led the outflows, registering the seventh-largest weekly selloff in BofA’s history of tracking the sector since 2008. Healthcare and Real Estate also saw notable outflows.
On the other hand, Energy stocks continued to attract interest, marking a six-week buying streak—the longest for any sector recently.
“We upgraded Energy to overweight last month amid record neglect; many Energy stocks also may benefit from provisions for domestic manufacturers in the tax bill,” BofA said.
In the ETF space, clients sold equity ETFs for the first time in five weeks. Value-oriented ETFs drew inflows, while Blend and Growth styles saw outflows. By size, only large-cap ETFs received net buying.
Despite ongoing buying in Energy single stocks, clients pulled back from Energy ETFs. Communications Services ETFs bucked the trend, seeing the strongest inflows and extending their own three-week buying streak.