Investing.com -- Bank of America said its clients bought US equities for the third consecutive week, adding $2.2 billion. The S&P 500 gained 1.5% during the week following two weeks of declines.

According to BofA, both single stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw inflows, with individual stock purchases extending to a sixth consecutive week and ETF buying continuing for a second week.

Private clients remained consistent buyers for the tenth straight week, while institutional and hedge fund clients were net sellers.

"Private clients are typically big net buyers in Jan., but the recent buying streak is the longest of any start-of-year since 2022, with inflows across most sectors," except Technology and Consumer Discretionary, BofA strategists led by Jill Carey Hall noted.

Meanwhile, institutional and hedge fund clients have been selling equities for most of 2025.

Corporate share repurchases during the week remained robust, despite a slight weekly slowdown. Buybacks were near record-high levels as a percentage of the S&P 500 market cap, ranking as the sixth largest in data going back to 2010.

Year-to-date, buyback execution has been well above seasonal norms, even amid elevated valuations and interest rates. However, announced buyback plans for 2025 indicate a shift, with fewer repurchases in Tech, Media, and Telecom (BCBA: TECO2m ), while Financials and Health Care are seeing an increase.

Clients favored six of the 11 sectors, with Technology seeing its largest inflows since December. Industrials attracted their first inflows since December, while Staples also saw their biggest inflows in months. Health Care continued to draw investor interest and has recorded the largest year-to-date inflows after Technology and Communication Services.

Financials have maintained the longest streak of sector inflows, with investors buying for six consecutive weeks.

Consumer Discretionary stocks experienced the largest outflows and have seen four straight weeks of selling, while Energy stocks recorded their first weekly outflows of the year.

ETF activity followed similar trends, with six sectors seeing inflows. Tech and Discretionary ETFs led the way, while Materials and Energy ETFs posted the biggest outflows.