**[Bank of America: Credit Tightening May Trigger Passive Selling, Stock Market Faces Bearish Signals]** According to a report by Golden Finance, Bank of America strategists stated that further pressure in the credit market could trigger a new round of broad-based sell-offs in the stock market, as long-term investors, including pension funds, may be forced to sell assets. Savita Subramanian of BofA Securities said, "If volatility in the private credit market persists, institutions like pension funds may be forced to sell index funds to avoid valuation adjustments in private assets." She noted that passive investing "dominates the S&P 500 index," meaning that market declines would force index funds into further selling. Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak+, also pointed out that bank sector ETFs could exacerbate selling pressure. "Given that bank ETFs have already weakened significantly, even a slight further decline could confirm a major shift in the trend of bank stocks." Bank of America further noted that the S&P 500 index appears "statistically expensive" across 20 different valuation metrics, indicating that the three-year bull market is facing increasingly high valuation risks, while the probability of market downturns is rising.