LIVE MARKETS-BofA clients sell US equities for first time in eight weeks

Corporate buybacks also slowed. Year-to-date annualized buybacks are running slightly below 2025 levels and well below the record pace seen in 2024, though still ahead of levels recorded between 2016 and 2023, according to Hall.

Clients sold stocks in six of the 11 sectors, with technology leading outflows after posting record inflows a week earlier. Industrials recorded sizable outflows for a fourth straight week, with the sector's rolling four-week average net flow now the most negative in BofA's data going back to 2008, according to Hall.

Materials attracted the strongest inflows, snapping a seven-week outflow streak, while healthcare also saw net buying.

ETF flows reflected a similar rotation. Clients bought value and blend ETFs and sold growth ETFs for a third consecutive week. They were also net sellers of broad-market, mid-cap and small-cap ETFs.

At the sector level, clients sold ETFs in nine of 11 sectors, led by technology funds. Materials ETFs attracted the largest inflows, mirroring buying in the underlying stocks, Hall said.

BofA clients turned net sellers of U.S. equities last week for the first time in eight weeks as the S&P 500 .SPX fell 1.4%, according to BofA Securities equity and quant strategist Jill Carey Hall.

In a note on Wednesday, Hall said outflows were driven by single stocks, which saw $5 billion of net selling, while equity ETFs continued to attract inflows of $1.3 billion, extending their buying streak to nine weeks.

All major client groups were sellers. Institutional investors led the move, with their rolling four-week average net flow turning negative for the first time in six weeks, Hall said. Hedge funds sold after three straight weeks of buying, while retail clients were net sellers for a fourth consecutive week.

Clients sold equities across market-cap segments when combining stock and ETF flows, though single-stock purchases remained positive for small- and micro-cap names.