For the tenth month in a row, the ASX delivered yet another monthly rise in July, this time increasing by 1.1%. 

Although the local market didn't quite keep up with the pace of offshore indices, with energy and tech stocks weighing on the benchmark index, there was still a strong showing from the consumer staples, industrials and materials sectors.

Here is what the Selfwealth community were buying and selling across the ASX through their Selfwealth trading accounts during July.

Which shares and ETFs were the most held?

Index-heavy iron ore miners were the biggest movers last month, which should come as no surprise given the movements of the commodity market, as well as the latest reports from the majors in this sector.

BHP (ASX: BHP) gained 10.1% across the month thanks to a strong production report that has buoyed hopes for record earnings and a bumper dividend when it reports this month. The company also struck a deal with Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) to supply the mega-tech business with nickel. Sliding into sixth position among the most-held stocks on the Selfwealth platform, this is the stock best placing since April.Following suit, Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) made its first appearance in the list of the leading community holdings in a year. The miner released its half-year results towards the end of July, surpassing expectations, particularly as it declared a mammoth dividend of US$5.61 per share.Shares in Fortescue Metals (ASX: FMG) may have increased 6.7% throughout July, but within the Selfwealth community the collective value of members' FMG holdings dropped by 2.8%. This was an outlier compared with the other iron ore names, and the move may have been triggered by repositioning in terms of iron ore exposure, profit taking and easing iron ore prices.Elsewhere, there was renewed interest in Flight Centre (ASX: FLT) as a core holding in portfolios across the Selfwealth community. The stock eked out a 1.4% gain in July, but total shares held with Selfwealth surged by more than 20% in value. Ongoing lockdowns and border restrictions across the country haven't dented the spirits of Selfwealth members, with many investors presumably backing a longer-term outlook following subdued share price activity since early May.The other major mover last month was Argo Investments (ASX: ARG), where the value of holdings climbed by around 15%. With the stock hitting an all-time high last month, the Listed Investment Company (LIC) may have had natural appeal to a number of investors. Adding to that, the recent tie-up between Washington H. Soul Pattison (ASX: SOL) and Milton Corporation (ASX: MLT) may be prompting some Selfwealth members to invest in ARG as a replacement pure-play LIC, further evidenced by an outflow in MLT shares across July.ASX StockCompany1CSLCSL Limited2CBACommonwealth Bank3WBCWestpac4NABNational Australia Bank5AFIAustralian Foundation Inv6BHPBHP7ANZAustralia and New Zealand Banking Group8MQGMacquarie Group9APTAfterpay10Z1PZip Co11FMGFortescue Metals Group12TLSTelstra13WESWesfarmers14FLTFlight Centre15SWFSelfwealth16WPLWoodside Petroleum17ARGArgo Investments18WOWWoolworths19RIORio Tinto20MLTMilton Corp

In terms of ETFs, there were strong increases in the value of all but one of the top ten holdings. Rising equity prices, both across the ASX and the US share markets, were conducive to double-digit gains for six of the top ten. 

However, in the case of the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA), a significant bout of volatility saw the value of ASIA holdings decrease by 4.3% across the community. With that said, the underlying performance of the ETF was worse, driven by regulatory pressure out of China that has weighed on many of the nation tech companies, even those listed on the US stock market.ASX ETFsCompany1VASVanguard Australian Shares Index ETF2VDHGVanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF3VGSVanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF4VTSVanguard U.S. Total Market Shares Index ETF5A200BetaShares Australia 200 ETF6IVVIshares S&P 500 ETF7NDQBetashares Nasdaq 100 ETF8VEUVanguard All-World ex-U.S. Shares Index ETF9ASIABetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF10VHYVanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF

ASX share trading activity

A shift in trading action that saw more sell orders for Fortescue Metals Group, accompanied by a surge in trading activity for Zip Co (ASX: Z1P) meant there were some changes atop the list of the most actively-traded ASX stocks last month. The heightened level of trading in Zip, with the value of orders filled up about 50% on the month prior, was driven by the company record Q4 results, in addition to speculation the company may be a potential takeover candidate, as has since happened with Afterpay (ASX: APT). Ironically, the latter saw its smallest value of trading activity since June last year, a positive for those who managed to hold onto their shares until the company takeover offer landed at the start of August.As touched on earlier, Flight Centre was a popular name throughout July. The buy-to-sell ratio of trading activity hit 59.5% versus 47.4% in the month of June, highlighting a significant shift in sentiment favouring the online travel agent.With the market hitting a series of new all-time highs across the month, we also witnessed a greater reliance on ETFs as part of members' trading plans. By way of comparison, there were just four ETFs that featured in the top 20 most actively-traded stocks by value in June. In July, however, this grew to seven, with the likes of the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS), Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ) and BetaShares Australia 200 ETF (ASX: A200) all making the cut. The above was the highest result since February this year, albeit the value of said holdings is now considerably greater. Furthermore, five of the top six names in terms of filled orders were ETFs, accounting for more than 14,000 trades, with 90.5% of these orders being purchases. Further down the list, a number of other names that featured in the top 20 stocks by order numbers included ETFs, such as the iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV), BetaShares Global Sustainability Leaders ETF (ASX: ETHI) and Betashares Global Cybersecurity ETF (ASX: HACK).Elsewhere, a superb run from aspiring zero-carbon lithium producer Vulcan Energy Resources (ASX: VUL) saw it feature as the seventh most-traded stock by the number of filled orders, which totalled nearly 1,500. With a gain of 27.3% across July, and even more since, the stock captured the attention of momentum traders, while long-term investors may have been attracted to the company increasing pipeline of partners and deals.Top 20 stocks traded by valueCode SecurityBuy-Sell Ratio1Z1PZip Co54.2%2FMGFortescue Metals Group47.9%3BBOZBetashares Australian Equities Strong Bear Hedge Fund51.1%4VASVanguard Australian Shares Index ETF65.0%5GEARBetaShares Geared Australian Equity (Hedge Fund)46.7%6ANZANZ47.1%7VDHGVanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF89.7%8FLTFlight Centre59.5%9WBCWestpac55.1%10CBACommonwealth Bank53.9%11VGSVanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF85.8%12A2MA2 Milk59.9%13NABNational Australia Bank45.1%14APTAfterpay53.1%15MQGMacquarie Group47.5%16NDQBetashares Nasdaq 100 ETF73.6%17TLSTelstra50.2%18BHPBHP41.6%19A200BetaShares Australia 200 ETF76.3%20CSLCSL47.5%

That all for this Trade Trends report, stay tuned for the next edition this time next month!