Bank of America Securities said its clients bought U.S. stocks for the second straight week. Clients bought both individual stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), with the former attracting large inflows. The S&P 500 gained 3.9 percent last week, reaching its highest level since mid-July.

Stylistically, large- and mid- and small-cap stocks all saw inflows, marking the fourth consecutive week of inflows for large-caps and the third for small- and mid-caps, according to BofA strategists.

Hedge funds and institutional clients were net buyers for the second week in a row, with institutional clients becoming net buyers for the first time in three weeks. In contrast, retail clients were net sellers for the second week in a row.

BofA clients bought stocks from nearly every sector except energy and industrials.

The strongest buying activity has been in the technology and communications services sectors, which have also seen the largest inflows since the beginning of the year. Communications services continues to lead with the longest buying streak, now spanning 20 weeks, followed by consumer goods and healthcare, which have each seen inflows over the last five weeks.

Meanwhile, energy stocks posted their biggest sell-offs since October 2022, marking a four-week selling streak with the biggest outflows in nearly two years.

The Industrial sector saw negative momentum, with clients selling Industrial stocks in five of the last six weeks. The Industrial sector also had the most negative four-week average flows of all eleven sectors.

Regarding corporate share repurchases, BofA said that repurchases as a percentage of market capitalization continued to exceed seasonal levels for the 23rd consecutive week, so according to its data, 2024 is on track to be a record year for repurchases.

“While we do not disclose detailed sector-level data in this report, completed buybacks/market capitalization in the S&P 500 were highest in the communications services sector this year,” the strategists emphasize.

In the ETF market, eight of the eleven sectors saw inflows. In contrast to individual stocks, energy ETFs saw the largest inflows, while technology ETFs experienced the largest outflows.