LIVE MARKETS-BofA clients tap the brakes on stocks

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BOFA CLIENTS TAP THE BRAKES ON STOCKS

Bank of America clients turned net sellers of U.S. equities last week after two straight weeks of buying as the S&P 500 .SPX dipped 0.8%.

According to BofA strategist Jill Carey Hall, most of the selling came from individual stocks, which saw $6.2 billion in outflows. Equity ETFs, however, continued to attract money, pulling in about $500 million and extending their inflow streak to 12 straight weeks.

The selling was broad-based. All three major client groups were net sellers, led by retail investors, who posted a seventh consecutive week of outflows. Institutional and hedge fund clients also turned into sellers after three weeks of buying.

One notable exception to the cautious mood was small caps. Despite a hotter-than-expected CPI report, clients continued to buy small-cap shares while trimming exposure to large- and mid-cap stocks.

Another source of support for the market may be fading. Corporate buybacks slowed from the prior week, and cumulative buybacks this year are running roughly 25% below 2025 levels and more than 40% below 2024 levels. On a rolling 52-week basis, buybacks as a share of S&P 500 market capitalization are at their lowest level since August 2021.

Sector flows were overwhelmingly negative. Utilities was the lone sector to attract inflows, while communication services suffered the largest outflows, marking its worst week since December 2025. Energy also remained out of favor, with clients pulling money from the sector despite the recent surge in oil prices.

ETF investors were a bit more selective. Clients bought both value and growth funds while selling blend ETFs. All major market-cap categories saw inflows, and among sector ETFs, technology drew the strongest demand while healthcare experienced the biggest outflows.

(Terence Gabriel)

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