Key takeaways: 

• While gold shares continued to attract strong trading interest, that may have been at the expense of the iron ore segment, where both volumes and sentiment slid sharply. 

• Australia’s major banks were in the spotlight last month amid reporting, with Commonwealth Bank and Macquarie Group seeing the collective value of their shares in the community grow, even in the face of selling pressure. 

• Reversing a trend of the last couple months, ETF volumes and sentiment dropped as volatility across global equities eased and markets rallied. 

• Past performance is not an indicator of future performance.  Please undertake your own research before deciding to invest

The local share market was back at a multi-month high in May, and within touching distance of an all-time high, as investors embraced a Reserve Bank of Australia interest rate cut, and increased risk appetite stemming from overseas markets. 

As such, growth-oriented shares fared best, including the Information Technology sector, which posted a double-digit gain for the month. There was also support from shares across the Energy, Telecommunication Services, and Industrials sectors. By the end of the month, the S&P/ASX 200 had recorded a monthly gain of 3.8%. 

Which stocks made waves in the Selfwealth community? Which stocks fell out of favour? Here’s your roundup of the trading activity from May. 

ASX share trading activity 

Last month’s most actively traded stock was Zip (ASX: ZIP), improving its ranking from fourth spot a month prior. Shares in the buy-now pay-later operator surged 15% throughout May, and the Selfwealth community were on board with the company’s outlook, as 56% of trades were buys. Trade volumes in ZIP also rose last month, up nearly 5% compared with a broader decline of around 10% across the top 20 most traded stocks. 

The primary drag on total trade volumes was the iron ore segment, where majors including BHP (ASX: BHP) and Fortescue (ASX: FMG) both saw their recent surge in trading volumes unwind.  

On this front, BHP and Fortescue saw declines in trading volumes of 37% and 35% respectively, while sentiment levels also fell sharply, down 14.6 percentage points and 8.4 percentage points respectively. Declining interest may have had some connection to China trade concerns. Despite a trade deal being struck with the US, optimism started to fade from around the middle of the month. 

On the back of a 50% rally in its share price, Appen (ASX: APX) found interest from the Selfwealth community last month. And it was buyers representing the bulk of the action, with 58.1% of all trades being buys.  

That suggests investors were keen to follow APX’s momentum, perhaps considering a guidance update provided by the firm. At its annual general meeting, the company disclosed it expects full-year revenue of between $235 million to $260 million, and positive underlying EBITDA, which may have offered some encouragement to shareholders amid the stock’s large decline over the last five years. 

May brought further interest in gold shares, including the likes of Evolution Mining (ASX: EVN) and Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST), which ranked 11th and 12th for trade volumes. Most of the trading action in each stock was driven by buying activity, while both shares recorded an uplift in trade volumes, underscoring heightened demand for exposure to this segment as gold prices continued to circle record highs. 

After an early-month sell-off, coinciding with its shares trading ex-dividend, Westpac (ASX: WBC) finished the month as the ninth most traded ASX stock by volume. Much of the trading action was around the time of the bank’s results, and in the lead-up to trading ex-dividend, with many buyers seemingly interested in being eligible for the bank’s interim fully franked dividend of $0.76 per share. Trade volumes in WBC leapt 42% over the month, offering further evidence investors were drawn to the stock’s dividend. 

Rounding things out, in 20th place, Boss Energy (ASX: BOE) made only its third-ever appearance among the most actively traded ASX stocks. The last instance was exactly one year ago. On this occasion, interest likely followed the stock’s momentum, with shares rising 24.1% last month. That was on the back of a rising uranium price, which supported share prices across the broader segment. 

Buying sentiment for each of the top 10 most actively traded ETFs fell last month, and the total trade volume of this group halved. The largest declines in buying sentiment were reserved for the Global X Physical Gold (ASX: GOLD), down 13.0 percentage points over the month, and the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS), down 10.5 percentage points. 

By value, ANZ (ASX: ANZ) was the most traded ASX share on the platform last month. One of the catalysts for this was the company’s half-year result, which showed largely flat cash profits, and a net interest margin that was lower than the second half of last year. Nonetheless, a slight majority of Selfwealth money flow corresponded with buying activity, suggesting investors were prepared to look past those figures in lieu of a potential buying opportunity. 

Money flow in Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) jumped to its highest level since August 2024. As it were, PLS traded at a four-year low in May, with market sentiment towards the lithium segment continuing to remain subdued. But Selfwealth investors appeared to have a different appetite for the industry, and Pilbara Minerals, with 53.3% of money flow in PLS tied to buying. 

Down in 16th position, Sigma Healthcare (ASX: SIG) drew significant money flow, but it commanded one of the weakest buy-to-sell ratios of any stock on this list at just 31.8%. Since its tie-up with Chemist Warehouse was completed in February, the stock has seen two separate instances of major outflows within the Selfwealth community, likely due to the overhang of existing shareholders reducing their exposure and taking profits. 

Even though trading volumes were slightly bullish for Global X Physical Gold, the gold-oriented fund recorded an outflow in terms of money flow. Almost 55% of last month’s money flow in the GOLD ETF was selling. Given the discrepancy in sentiment between trade volumes and trade values for this fund, a potential explanation centres on profit taking, whereby some unitholders may have reduced their exposure amid a slight retracement in the price of gold mid-way through May. 

What are the most popular ASX shares and ETFs? 

After closing out the month by resetting its all-time high, Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) entrenched its position as the most held ASX stock on the platform by value.  

Shares in the nation’s largest lender gained 5.6% last month, supported by strong buying support for the Financials sector, and an interest rate cut at the Reserve Bank of Australia’s May Board meeting. At month’s end, the total value of CBA shares in the community reached a record high, and the third-highest result ever for any ASX stock. 

Meanwhile, CBA wasn’t the only bank stock with positive momentum behind it. In ninth spot, Macquarie Group (ASX: MQG) closed the gap with its nearest rival in ANZ.  

The total value of community holdings in MQG gained 9.0% through May, which was only bettered by three other names among the top 20 cohort. In early May the bank announced net profit after tax of $3.72 billion, up 5% over the year. It seems this may have served as the impetus for growth, with the stock rising around 10% last month. 

Further down the list, Telstra (ASX: TLS) and Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) swapped places in 14th and 15th positions respectively. At the end of May, Telstra was trading at a more than eight-year high, with a monthly gain of 6% supporting the stock’s ascent up the list of the most held ASX shares in the Selfwealth community. In the 12 months through to May, TLS shares gained almost 40%, whereas RIO fell by a double-digit percentage over said period. 

One spot further aback, there was an outsized level of growth in holdings of Washington H Soul Pattinson & Company (ASX: SOL). It looks like those shareholders who increased their exposure to the investment company stand to gain, with SOL striking a merger deal in early June that saw its share price soar higher. Nonetheless, Selfwealth holdings in SOL grew by 15.1% month-over-month, far greater than a 0.8% increase in the underlying share price. 

As mentioned earlier, there was strong support for gold stocks, which translated into a significant spike in the value of holdings in Northern Star Resources. The total value of NST holdings on the platform increased 36% over the month, compared with a much smaller gain of 9.4% for the stock. As a result, NST moved two spots higher to claim 18th position among the most held ASX shares. 

And finally, Qantas (ASX: QAN) reclaimed a spot inside the top 20. Shares in the national carrier rocketed higher by 19.9% last month. While no price-sensitive news made the headlines, the company did announce new international routes, and the broader price trend extended that seen over the last year, where the QAN share price has risen nearly 80% and set a record high. 

While there were no changes to the list of the most popular ASX-listed ETFs in the Selfwealth community, the highest levels of growth in funds under administration were concentrated among US-oriented funds, including Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS), iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV), and Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ). 

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