Naughty Flicks

Skip NavigationMarketsBusinessInvestingTechPolitics & PolicyVideoWatchlistInvesting ClubPROLivestreamMenuIt’s the large investors who are stepping up and scooping up shares after the recent market declines, Bank of America data shows. The bank said late Tuesday that institutional clients last week bought more than $6.1 billion in stocks, with $4 billion of that money going into equity ETFs. Retail clients at BofA, meanwhile, were net sellers for the fourth straight week, dumping roughly $2 billion in stocks. The divergence comes amid increased market volatility after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in the midterm elections. Equities have also been choppy amid fears the artificial intelligence trade — which has driven the stock market to record highs in recent years — is losing momentum. It also marks a sharp change in stock market dynamics. Since “liberation day” on April 2, 2025, retail investors have used sharp market dips to buy shares at a discount. That hasn’t been the case in recent sessions. Retail traders “have not been a ballast. We’ve talked a lot about how they do this ‘buy the dip’; they’re the support” for the broader market, Amy Wu Silverman, head of derivatives strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told CNBC’s ” Squawk Box .” “Not only was that absent, it was going the other way.” “When you look at Thursday’s price action, it was kicked off by a lot of retail put buying. It was retail who got nervous and this sort of created a chain reaction with other aspects of the market,” Silverman said. The S & P 500 on Thursday dropped 4%, and the Nasdaq Composite tumbled into correction territory, as AI-linked shares dragged the market lower. Equities have rebounded since Thursday’s pullback, though investors are still braced for further volatility. The Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) traded near 18 on Wednesday. Whether institutions keep buying as retail traders pull back will help show if this split lasts beyond the latest sell-off.Read More