US equities experienced their largest net buying in four months after eight weeks of continuous outflows, according to a Goldman Sachs report. The rebound was driven by long buys and short covering, particularly in single stocks. Seven of eleven sectors saw net buying, led by Healthcare, Financials, Industrials, and Information Technology.
While macro products like indexes and ETFs saw slight net selling due to increased short sales, US-listed ETF shorts rose by 1.3%, with significant shorting in large-cap equity and corporate bond ETFs. Information Technology was the top-performing sector, with strong buying in software and tech hardware, although semiconductors faced selling pressure.
Healthcare stocks saw notable demand, with biotech, pharmaceuticals, and healthcare services leading the way. This marked the third consecutive week of buying in the sector, at the fastest pace in over a year.
In the ETF market, volumes dipped towards the week’s end, but China ETFs saw inflows of $5.5 billion, reflecting investor interest in Chinese positioning.
US equities had a mixed performance during the week, with the Nasdaq outperforming on AI enthusiasm, while the Russell 2000 lagged due to rising rates and inflation concerns affecting smaller stocks.