Investing.com -- Equity inflows into U.S. markets by Bank of America Securities clients surged last week, led by hedge funds, while retail investors ended their record streak of net buying.

According to the bank, clients were net buyers of U.S. equities for the fourth consecutive week, with $6 billion in combined single stock and exchange-traded fund (ETF) purchases.

BofA highlights that hedge funds recorded their biggest weekly inflows since August, while institutional and private clients were net sellers. “This marks the first week of private client selling in 23 wks., ending a record buying streak by this group,” BofA strategists led by Jill Carey Hall said.

Financials led the sector flows in the U.S., seeing their fourth week of net buying, while Health Care and Industrials also attracted inflows. Hedge fund activity in Industrials stood out, as BofA noted it was “the largest in our data history since ’08.”

On the other hand, Technology stocks saw outflows for the first time in seven weeks, breaking the sector’s longest recent buying streak. Communication Services also experienced its largest weekly outflows since July 2023.

In the ETF space, clients bought across all styles but favored large-cap and broad-market ETFs, while selling small- and mid-cap ETFs. Sector flows were led by Health Care and Consumer Discretionary ETFs, while outflows from Tech ETFs continued.

“Tech ETF flows turning negative for the first time since January. We believe we could be in the late innings of a Tech to Health Care rotation,” the report states.