Main U.S. indexes now ~flat; FOMC Minutes 2 p.m. ET
Cons Disc leas S&P 500 sector gainers; Utilities weakest group
Dollar, gold higher; crude off >1%; bitcoin down >2%
U.S. 10-Year Treasury yield steady at ~4.69%
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BOFA CLIENTS HAVE BEEN NET BUYERS FOR 9-STRAIGHT WEEKS
BofA Securities equity and quant strategist Jill Carey Hall says that last week, with the S&P 500 index .SPX declining about 0.5%, clients were net buyers of U.S. equities for the 9th straight week (+$2.1B).
"Private clients were buyers for the 4th week (typically they sell in Dec. amid tax loss harvesting), while institutional and hedge fund clients were sellers (for the 4th straight week and first time in five weeks, respectively)," writes Hall in her note.
In terms of GICS sectors, she says that clients sold stocks in 8 of the 11 groups, led by tech and consumer discretionary.
Hall notes that January has been the strongest month for U.S. equity inflows by clients on average since 2008, and it has seen net buying in 12 of the last 16 years. It's also been the only month besides May where clients bought both stocks and ETFs, on average.
Looking back at 2024, Hall says that clients' net buys of U.S. equities as a percentage of S&P 500 market capitalization were the largest in BofA's post-08 data history, with inflows into both single stocks and ETFs.
Additionally, corporate client buybacks were the highest in BofA's data history since 2008 both in absolute terms and as a percentage of S&P 500 market cap.
With respect to the GICS sectors last year, clients bought stocks in five of the 11 sectors, led by communication services and tech, while financials and industrials saw the largest outflows.
(Terence Gabriel)
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FOR WEDNESDAY'S EARLIER LIVE MARKETS POSTS:
SEVEN POLICY RISKS THAT COULD SPOIL THE PARTY - CLICK HERE
HUMP-DAY ECONOMICS: ADP, JOBLESS CLAIMS, MORTGAGES - CLICK HERE
TAKING THE QUANTUM DIVE - CLICK HERE
BENCHMARK TREASURY YIELD CHALLENGING ITS APRIL 2024 HIGH - CLICK HERE
BOFA SEES UPSIDE FOR UK BANKS - CLICK HERE
YIELD AND TRUMP JITTERS KNOCK STOCKS - CLICK HERE
BANKS: "MUCH MORE TO GO IN 2025" - CLICK HERE
US TARIFFS? TRANSACTIONAL FOR EUROPE, PUNITIVE FOR CHINA - CLICK HERE
EUROPEAN DEFENCE NAMES BOOST STOXX, OIL NAMES CAP GAINS - CLICK HERE
STRONG DOLLAR, RISING YIELDS HOG THE SPOTLIGHT - CLICK HERE
EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: FUTURES FALTER AS TRUMP, JOBS DATA IN FOCUS - CLICK HERE
