Strategist at the bank of America noted on Friday that Investors pulled $17.5 billion out of global equities over the past week, making the biggest weekly outflow this year. They cautioned that those outflows could well deepen. Bank of America’s Michael Hartnett pointed out that Since Nov. 2021, NASDAQ peak inflows to stocks have occurred in 16 of 20 weeks, for a total of $229 billion, while private clients bought stocks 17 out of 20 weeks.
Investors also pulled $8.7 billion out of bonds and $55.4 billion from cash, pouring $900 million into gold. Before Friday’s stock-market rout, the S&P 500 SPX -2.77% slumped 2.8%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA -2.82% plummeted 981.36 points or 2.8%. The S&P 500 is down 10.4% year to date, while the Dow is off 7%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite COMP, -2.55%, is down 17.9% so far in 2022, after a 2.5% Friday drop. Breaking down some of the equity outflows, Bank of America strategists noted data showing Europe saw the 10th straight weekly outflow — $2.9 billion, while $1.6 billion exited financials, as money flowed back into buying the technology sector dip. Materials, meanwhile, marked a record 8-weeks of inflows.
