Key takeaways:

• Reporting season proved a major catalyst for trading activity in February

• Energy, travel, and lithium underpin last month community narrative 

Following January record start to the year, selling pressure hit the Australian share market last month. The ASX 200 fell 2.9% across the course of February, while the All Ordinaries fared slightly worse, down 3%.

With another hike from the Reserve Bank of Australia kicking off proceedings, investors took note of the central bank hawkish pivot. In its statement accompanying last month interest rate decision, the bank indicated that several more rate hikes are likely to combat inflation. Meanwhile, a disappointing earnings season also weighed on the local market. 

On the whole, utilities and tech stocks were among the winners last month, while materials and financials led the market lower.

Here is what the Selfwealth community traded in February.

What are the most popular ASX shares and ETFs?

A familiar sight at the top of the charts for the most held stocks in the Selfwealth community, Australia largest lender, Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA), is the most popular name by value. 

While the company share price slumped 8.5% across the course of February following its earnings, sparked by concerns its net interest margins may have peaked, the Selfwealth community wasted no time buying the dip. As a result, CBA was the only stock among the top 10 that recorded a net inflow of funds.

Further down the list, Woodside Energy (ASX: WDS) and Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) switched places in 11th and 12th positions respectively. That may have had something to do with the bumper earnings report delivered by Wooside, including record profit, and an 87% increase to its final dividend. 

While Pilbara results were impressive in their own right - the company delivered profit of $1.2 billion and an inaugural dividend - Wooside results attracted strong buying support from the Selfwealth community 

One of just a few other names that saw net growth in holdings last month was Telstra (ASX: TLS). Australia most well-known Telco reported encouraging growth in its mobiles business, and ultimately beat top and bottom-line estimates. 

The company also reaffirmed its FY23 guidance and increased its dividend for the second straight time, which may explain why the stock rallied on the news.

Climbing two spots into 16th position, Washington H. Soul Pattinson and Co (ASX: SOL) shares delivered strong growth for shareholders in February. The stock approached a fresh yearly high last month, which is likely due to the fact that two of its key holdings, Brickworks and New Hope, have both performed resiliently in recent times. Last but not least, Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) makes an appearance in the top 20 most held ASX stocks for the first time. The miner has been on a tear thanks to its exposure to two of the hottest commodities in the market, iron ore and lithium. 

Management previously signalled that MIN lithium assets could be spun out and listed as a separate entity, which is something that has likely resonated with Selfwealth members given their longstanding interest in the critical resource.

ASX StockCompany1CBACommonwealth Bank2BHPBHP3CSLCSL4WBCWestpac5NABNational Australia Bank6ANZANZ7MQGMacquarie Group8NEUNeuren Pharmaceuticals9AFIAustralian Foundation Inv10FMGFortescue Metals Group11WDSWoodside Energy12PLSPilbara Minerals13TLSTelstra14WESWesfarmers15RIORio Tinto16SOLWashington H. Soul Pattinson and Co17ARGArgo Investments18FLTFlight Centre19WOWWoolworths20MINMineral Resources

An unchanged list of funds round out the top 10 ETFs on the Selfwealth platform. While funds offering exposure to the local share market went backwards in terms of the value of all holdings across the community, it was a different story for US-oriented funds like the BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ) and the Ishares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV). These funds outperformed their underlying indexes on account of favourable currency movements.ASX ETFsCompany1VASVanguard Australian Shares Index ETF2VDHGVanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF3VGSVanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF4IVVIshares S&P 500 ETF5A200BetaShares Australia 200 ETF6VTSVanguard U.S. Total Market Shares Index ETF7NDQBetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF8VEUVanguard All-World ex-U.S. Shares Index ETF9VHYVanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF10DHHFBetaShares Diversified All Growth ETF

ASX share trading activity

Unsurprisingly, battery metals were a key area of the market where Selfwealth members traded with intent. As bears ramped up their activity in this segment, including an uptick in short interest directed towards lithium stocks, it was up to bulls to offer their support to a host of community favourites. This included Pilbara Minerals, Core Lithium (ASX: CXO), Lake Resources (ASX: LKE), and Sayona Mining (ASX: SYA), all of which featured in the top 20 stocks by trades last month. Across the quartet, the buy-to-sell ratio averaged roughly two-thirds. This suggests the Selfwealth community remains undeterred by short sellers targeting the lithium sector amid questions about the outlook for lithium prices.Thanks to sky-high airfares, Qantas (ASX: QAN) reported a huge profit last month. That was just one of the factors that underpinned heightened trading activity in the airline, which also signalled that ticket prices are expected to moderate as flight volumes come online. QAN was the 16th most actively traded stock in February based on trade numbers. Vanguard ETFs occupied two of the top three spots as far as popular investments. Trade numbers in the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) were equal to the next two most actively traded names in the Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF (ASX: VDHG) and Pilbara Minerals.Top 20 stocks by tradesCode Security

Buy-Sell Ratio

1VASVanguard Australian Shares Index ETF

84.4%

2VDHGVanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF

81.4%

3PLSPilbara Minerals

66.9%

4VGSVanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF

76.5%

5BHPBHP

66.4%

6IVVIshares S&P 500 ETF

79.5%

7WHCWhitehaven Coal

62.9%

8CXOCore Lithium

70.6%

9FMGFortescue Metals Group

48.4%

10NDQBetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF

66.1%

11A200BetaShares Australia 200 ETF

80.4%

12CBACommonwealth Bank

70.3%

13WBCWestpac

57.5%

14LKELake Resources

62.2%

15WDSWoodside Energy

66.3%

16QANQantas

52.2%

17STOSantos

66.8%

18FLTFlight Centre

28.1%

19SYASayona Mining

69.0%

20BBOZBetaShares Australian Equities Strong Bear Hedge Fund

45.3%

As well as being one of the most held stocks in the Selfwealth community, Flight Centre (ASX: FLT) was also among the most actively traded names last month. The travel agency rounded out the top 20 amid a revival in the travel sector and corporate activity. However, the company decision to tap the market for fresh capital to fund a $220 million acquisition didn't sit well with all shareholders, as nearly two-thirds of all trades by value last month were sell orders.Making a rare appearance among the most traded names, there was a large uptick in the value of Santos (ASX: STO) shares that traded hands last month. That followed the company earnings report, which showed record production and revenue, with net profits climbing more than 200%, and the company final dividend increasing 79%. With a clear majority of trade values skewed towards buying activity, it appears the Selfwealth community was pleased with the oil major results.Ranking fourth in terms of trades last month, the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) also made the top 20. By value, the equity ranked 17th within the community, but it also boasted the highest buy-to-sell ratio of any holding. That suggests a level of conviction and bullishness in the holding and the outlook for international shares.Top 20 stocks traded by valueCode Security

Buy-Sell Ratio

1BHPBHP

60.0%

2FMGFortescue Metals Group

47.8%

3BBOZBetashares Australian Equities Strong Bear Hedge Fund

48.0%

4PLSPilbara Minerals

54.0%

5CBACommonwealth Bank

62.8%

6MQGMacquarie Group

45.9%

7WBCWestpac

54.1%

8ANZANZ

46.7%

9GEARBetaShares Geared Australian Equity Fund

48.8%

10WHCWhitehaven Coal

50.0%

11WDSWoodside Energy

61.7%

12VASVanguard Australian Shares Index ETF

67.3%

13LNASETFS Ultra Long Nasdaq 100 Hedge Fund

49.4%

14SNASETFS Ultra Short Nasdaq 100 Hedge Fund

53.6%

15AAABetaShares Australian High Interest Cash ETF

58.7%

16STOSantos

58.2%

17VGSVanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF

70.0%

18BBUSBBUS U.S Equities Strong Bear Fund

52.4%

19NHCNew Hope Corporation

63.8%

20FLTFlight Centre

37.8%

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