Republicans drive congressional stock sales of $7.5mn

Republicans accounted for $4.9mn of the $7.5mn of stock sold by members of Congress in filings disclosed in the last 30 days. Across 220 trades, 17 filers from the party disclosed purchases of $2.1mn. Purchases accounted for 30 per cent of their trading value.

Filers among Democrats reported 478 trades across eight members. They disclosed $2.7mn of purchases and $2.6mn of sales, with purchases representing 51 per cent of their traded value.

Filings across both chambers showed 25 filers making 374 sales and 324 purchases. Trading generated $2.7mn of net selling. Sales made up 61 per cent of value, while purchases took 39 per cent.

Technology was the most sold sector on balance among S&P 500 companies. filers made $1.5mn of sales and $667,000 of purchases across 114 trades, leaving $856,000 of net selling. Financial shares were the most bought on balance, with $1.1mn of purchases against $475,000 of sales across 47 trades, which produced $627,000 of net buying.