Key takeaways:

• China COVID-zero policy was at the heart of key trading trends in commodities last month

• Iron ore stocks pop, but Selfwealth members contain their excitement

• A market-wide lithium sell-off fails to halt retail investor interest in the fast-growing segment

Thanks to a second straight monthly gain of more than 6%, the ASX 200 delivered another strong performance in November. The benchmark index has now rebounded around 13% off its low.

Last month gains were sparked by utilities and materials stocks. Markets have been rallying on hopes that the Federal Reserve will ease the scale of its rate hikes. At the same time, investors are also optimistic that China could be slowly pivoting away from its COVID-zero approach. 

Elsewhere, the health care sector delivered robust gains, while energy and financials trailed the broader market.

With the ASX finishing November at a seven-month high, here is what the Selfwealth community was buying and selling.

What are the most popular ASX shares and ETFs?

Helped by a significant share price gain last month, iron ore titan BHP (ASX: BHP) moves up to third spot among the most held stocks on the Selfwealth platform. The company share price soared almost 22% throughout the course of the month. Investors are increasingly optimistic about China pivoting away from its COVID-zero approach.

Despite a sharp rally in BHP share price, growth in community holdings failed to keep up. Instead, BHP holdings grew by just 6.8% across the platform. 

It was a similar story for Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG), where the miner share price leapt 31.8% in November. FMG shares held by Selfwealth members grew by 22%, again illustrating a notable discrepancy.

The above suggests Selfwealth members are exercising some caution around iron ore stocks. In fact, trading data, which We'll touch on later, backs this up, with sell orders outranking buying activity. 

This could be due to a number of factors, albeit one of the more likely reasons is that investors are unconvinced about China making any radical changes to its COVID policy. On the other hand, the share price gains in this sector largely defied what was otherwise muted trading in iron ore prices. This could be something on the minds of investors expecting commodity prices to turn lower once again.

Lithium stocks were one of the only cohorts that went backwards in November. Even though buying activity has raged on, the sector faced heavy selling pressure last month. 

It wasn't all one-way traffic, with record-high lithium prices supporting battery metals stocks during the first third of the month. But the gains quickly turned into losses as China COVID flare-up sparked concerns about demand for electric vehicles, and in turn, lithium.

Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) dropped one place to 11th, while Liontown Resources (ASX: LTR) and Core Lithium (ASX: CXO) swapped positions in 16th and 17th spots. But the data for holdings paints a bigger picture, with the trio shedding 4.3%, 2%, and 3.5% respectively.Woolworths (ASX: WOW) is back among the most popular holdings on the Selfwealth platform. It looks like investors have taken the opportunity to buy into the stock following a two-year low at the start of the month. 

Shares in Woolies have been hampered by concerns about inflation and an uncertain economic outlook. At its recent annual general meeting, the company noted local food sales were trending lower.

ASX StockCompany1CBACommonwealth Bank2CSLCSL3BHPBHP4WBCWestpac5NABNational Australia Bank6NEUNeuren Pharmaceuticals7ANZAustralia and New Zealand Banking Group8MQGMacquarie Group9FMGFortescue Metals Group10AFIAustralian Foundation Investment11PLSPilbara Minerals12WDSWoodside Energy13TLSTelstra14WESWesfarmers15RIORio Tinto16LTRLiontown Resources17CXOCore Lithium18SOLWashington H. Soul Pattinson and Co19ARGArgo Investments20WOWWoolworths

The BetaShares Australia 200 ETF (ASX: A200) and Vanguard U.S. Total Market Shares Index ETF (ASX: VTS) swapped positions in the line-up for the most popular ETFs.Interestingly, however, ETFs oriented towards the Australian share market got the jump on their peers last month. Holdings in A200 grew by 7.7%, outperforming the benchmark index. The Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) and Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: VHY) both grew by 7%. On the contrary, US-focused ETFs lagged. The iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV), Vanguard U.S. Total Market Shares Index ETF (ASX: VTS), and the BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ) were the only ETFs to record a net outflow last month. Each of the indexes that these funds track increased, but adverse forex movements proved decisive. 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

In what was a rare occurrence, there was more selling activity than buying activity across the top 20 most actively traded stocks last month. 

In fact, a number of high-profile stocks recorded low buy-to-sell ratios, with the likes of Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) and Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) coming in at 41.5% and 34.7% respectively. As we touched on earlier, BHP was also a major mover, thanks largely to its share price gains. Once again, selling activity was the key narrative. Regardless, the value of BHP shares traded last month was a record for the stock, and just shy of an all-time high. 

The above observations suggest profit taking was a key theme last month. Since the ASX finished November at a seven-month high, some investors may be cautious about the resurgence in the market given the uncertain economic outlook ahead. 

Elsewhere, lithium remains a favourite among active traders in the Selfwealth community. Pilbara Minerals and Core Lithium feature among the top 20 stocks traded by value. However, in terms of trades, the duo were at the centre of around 3,200 trades. Further down the list, lithium stocks like Allkem (ASX: AKE), Lake Resources (ASX: LKE), and Sayona Mining (ASX: SYA) were traded heavily. Even with the sector drifting lower last month, Selfwealth members appear keen to top up their holdings in these names, or actively trade the price swings. Finally, Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC) makes a third consecutive appearance in the top 20. Buying activity has increasingly dried up for the coal exporter, starting at 57% in September, before falling to 45.9% in October, and then 42.1% in November. It may be the case that investors believe the stock has peaked following a meteoric run in 2022.Top 20 stocks traded by valueCode SecurityBuy-Sell Ratio1BHPBHP42.0%2PLSPilbara Minerals52.8%3FMGFortescue Metals Group44.2%4BBOZBetaShares Australian Equities Strong Bear Hedge Fund51.4%5WBCWestpac52.2%6LNASETFS Ultra Long Nasdaq 100 Hedge Fund51.1%7CXOCore Lithium48.5%8GEARBetaShares Geared Australian Equity Fund46.2%9ANZANZ56.1%10CBACommonwealth Bank41.5%11VASVanguard Australian Shares Index ETF59.9%12WHCWhitehaven Coal42.1%13BBUSBBUS U.S Equities Strong Bear Fund55.1%14RIORio Tinto34.7%15MQGMacquarie Group48.4%16GGUSBetaShares Geared U.S. Equity Fund56.8%17AKEAllkem56.4%18SNASETFS Ultra Short Nasdaq 100 Hedge Fund47.8%19WDSWoodside Energy47.1%20NABNAB51.0%

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