$S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ buybacks jumped 35% in Q2 2024 to ...

$S&P 500 Index (.SPX.US)$ buybacks jumped 35% in Q2 2024 to $236 billion, near the all-time record.
Furthermore, a massive 52% of stock repurchases were conducted by the index's top 20 firms.
This compares to a long-term average of 48% and pre-pandemic average of 45%.
Apple, $Apple (AAPL.US)$ , Alphabet, $Alphabet-A (GOOGL.US)$ , Meta, $Meta Platforms (META.US)$ , and Nvidia, $NVIDIA (NVDA.US)$ ALONE back $63 billion of stock.
The Information Technology sector saw $68 billion of repurchases while Financials and Communication Services saw $45 billion and $35 billion, respectively.
Buybacks are fueling the stock market rally.