Investing.com -- Bank of America clients were net sellers of US equities last week, driving total outflows of $1.8 billion. This marked the first week of net selling since just before the US election, BofA said.
Similar to the previous two weeks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were sold while single stocks attracted inflows. However, ETF outflows outpaced single-stock buying this time.
According to BofA, institutional and hedge fund clients were net sellers for the second and eighth consecutive weeks, respectively.
“These groups are typically net sellers in Jan. (vs. private clients typically buyers), and sales by both groups have also been larger than what we typically see in Jan,” BofA strategists led by Jill Carey Hall said in a note.
On the other hand, private clients were net buyers for the seventh straight week, with month-to-date inflows as a percentage of market cap already five times larger than the average for an entire January. Purchases by private clients were concentrated in Financials, Health Care, and Energy stocks.
Meanwhile, corporate client buybacks slowed slightly compared to the previous week but remained slightly above seasonal averages.
BofA clients sold shares across six of the 11 GICS sectors, with Consumer Staples leading the outflows. The sector saw its fourth-largest weekly outflows since 2008, driven by record sales from institutional clients.
Consumer Discretionary also saw significant outflows, reflecting broadly negative sentiment in the Staples sector.
BofA said Health Care stocks attracted the most inflows, recording the ninth-largest inflows on record after the previous week’s all-time high. Energy stocks followed with the second-largest inflows, marking their biggest inflow since June and the 16th-largest on record.
ETF activity reflected similar trends, with six of the 11 sectors experiencing ETF outflows. Energy and Technology ETFs led the declines, while Staples and Health Care ETFs recorded the highest inflows, even as single stocks in those sectors faced heavy selling.