BofA weekly flow data shows USD 2.4bln into stocks, USD 30.5bln into bonds, USD 1.2bln into cash, USD 1.1bln out of gold and USD 1.5bln out of crypto

Newsquawk Staff · 22 May 2026, 11:14 UTC

BULL & BEAR: BofA’s Bull & Bear Indicator rose to 8.0 from 7.8, triggering a contrarian sell signal for risk assets. BofA says this was driven by tech and EM debt inflows, a record monthly jump in FMS equity allocation and FMS cash falling to 3.9%.
EQUITIES: US equities saw an eighth straight week of inflows at USD 9.5bln, the longest streak since December 2025; Europe posted USD 2.3bln of outflows for a sixth straight week, the longest since February 2025; EM equities lost USD 7.9bln for a sixth straight week, the longest since November 2024; Japan saw outflows resume at USD 4.4bln.
SECTORS: Tech saw a USD 9.0bln inflow, the biggest since October 2025; consumer funds drew USD 0.6bln, communication services USD 0.4bln, energy USD 0.3bln and real estate USD 0.1bln. Financials saw USD 2.4bln of outflows, the biggest in 10 weeks, while materials lost USD 2.9bln and healthcare USD 0.2bln.
FIXED INCOME: Treasuries drew USD 10.8bln, the biggest inflow in nine weeks; IG bonds saw a seventh straight week of inflows at USD 13.3bln; HY bonds saw a second week of inflows at USD 0.3bln; EM debt drew USD 2.2bln; munis drew USD 2.6bln; TIPS drew USD 1.0bln and bank loans saw an eighth straight week of inflows at USD 0.8bln.
POSITIONING: BofA private clients’ AUM stood at USD 4.5tln; equity allocation was 65.7%, a record high; bond allocation was 17.3%, the lowest since March 2022; cash was 9.9%, a record low. Over the past four weeks, private clients bought muni bonds, materials and HY ETFs, while selling low-vol, utilities and REITs.
TRADING VIEW: BofA says strong price action, retail mania and slumping volatility look “bubbly,” with market concentration near past bubble extremes. It says the sell signal points to profit taking, while noting investors are unlikely to cut equity longs before historic IPOs, and policy tightening is likely after CPI reaches 4-5% in coming months.

What our latest note said

US Market Open, 23 Oct, 10:15 UTC · what it led with

US President Trump says the US crushed Iran, and may want to do it a "little more".
Crude benchmarks firmer on ongoing tensions in the Middle East; recent bout of strength comes after the Houthis launched another missile towards Saudi interests.

Read the whole note Free to read.

Newsquawk Daily

Get the next one free, by email.

What moved overnight, where stocks, bonds, currencies and oil stand, and what’s due today. Written by our analysts.

Both market-open notes, EU and US, every weekday. No account needed. Unsubscribe any time.

If you trade

This headline was on the Newsquawk live feed at 10:54 UTC.

Use the Platform opens our news terminal in your browser, with the live headline feed. It’s news, not a broker.

Use the Platform

Free. No signup, no card.

Case studies

Headlines that moved markets

FX headlines from our feed, and what the market did next.

Fed’s Waller (voter) says more rate hikes are likely needed to tame inflation, but there is flexibility over the pace and hikes do not need to be consecutive.
DXY+0.1%
Japan's GPIF didn't discuss allocation at its September meeting, Bloomberg reports.
USD/JPY+0.1%
Japanese FX Official Mimura says they are closely watching to see if markets take the clear message they are giving at face value. Not satisfied with or reassured by recent JPY action.
USD/JPY−0.5%

See all 183

More on this story

Make Newsquawk a preferred source on GoogleSelect this to see Newsquawk more often in Top Stories when you search Google.

More on this story

Related headlines