Investing.com -- Bank of America said in an equity client flows note that clients were net sellers of U.S. equities for another week, even as the S&P 500 edged higher, underscoring a persistent reluctance among investors to chase the market's recovery.

According to BofA equity and quant strategist Jill Carey Hall, clients recorded a sixth straight week of single-stock outflows totaling $3.9 billion last week, partially offset by $1.4 billion of equity ETF inflows, which was the fifth consecutive week of ETF buying.

The S&P 500 rose 0.5% over the period.

Institutional clients are said to have driven the selling, recording outflows in five of the last six weeks.

Private clients returned to buying equities for the first time in seven weeks, while hedge funds purchased equities for the third consecutive week.

Across size segments, large caps have seen the longest selling streak, with outflows for seven straight weeks on a combined stock and ETF flow basis.

Sector flows were broadly negative, with clients selling stocks in nine of eleven sectors. Health Care led the outflows, with BofA noting the rolling four-week average flow is "the most negative since December 2024."

Energy stocks extended their selling streak to eight weeks, though Energy ETFs continued to attract inflows. Tech stocks bucked the trend, seeing inflows after four consecutive weeks of outflows, likely reflecting positioning ahead of a heavy earnings week.

On the corporate side, buyback activity decelerated week over week and has tracked below the post-global financial crisis average for most of the year, with Tech seeing the most notable slowdown while Financials and Energy have picked up the pace.