Key takeaways: 

• Investors followed the positive lead after the US presidential election, with strong support for growth stocks and associated risk-oriented assets. 

• Trade volumes and conviction improved across several US-focused ETFs. 

• As the Big Four banks set new highs, money flowed out of these well know brand names. 

• It is important to always do your own research before making decisions to invest.     

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As local investors appeared to embrace a slightly more “risk-on” appetite, the Australian share market ended November at a record high. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index gained 3.4% over the course of the month, taking a positive lead from Wall Street, and the broad-based rally that flowed from the outcome of the US presidential election.  

The strongest performances came from Information Technology, Consumer Discretionary, and Financials sectors, although several other sectors contributed to the market’s renewed highs. Conversely, Energy and Materials shares lagged the market. 

With that, Selfwealth investors took a keen interest in a broad spectrum of the market, even showing great enthusiasm for US-focused funds. These are the most popular trades from November's share trading activity 

Buy-now pay-later operator Zip (ASX: ZIP) climbed from fifth to third in November, supported by strong buying activity. Two-thirds of all trades in the company were ‘buys,’ coinciding with a near three-year high for the stock. Through the month, ZIP shares rose 13.3%, benefitting from a widespread increase in sentiment for growth stocks. 

What’s more, the company’s momentum has been trending higher since its first-quarter trading update, where it announced group cash earnings before taxes, depreciation and amortization, EBTDA of $31.7 million. Compared with a year ago, this figure was up more than 200% and represented half of its total EBTDA for FY24. Another former market darling seeing a resurgence of interest was Appen (ASX: APX). The data services and machine learning business ranked sixth for trade volumes in the Selfwealth community last month, versus a ranking of ninth a month prior. Appen also benefitted from momentum tied to its quarterly earnings report, delivered at the end of October. Despite declining revenue, the company reported a return to positive underlying EBITDA, supported by growth in China.  

It was a different story for blue-chip share Woolworths (ASX: WOW), which hit a four-year low. The supermarket giant has faced a stream of industrial action over recent weeks, while also finding itself in the spotlight amid regulatory concerns about its pricing practices.  

Despite these headwinds, Selfwealth investors were bullish towards WOW. Ranking 12th for trade volumes across all ASX names, more than three-quarters of all trades were ‘buys’ – the highest sentiment across any name in the top 20. As we have seen on numerous occasions across the Selfwealth community, investors showed strong conviction in a company that has been sold down sharply. Year-to-December, Woolworths’ shares were down almost 20%, wiping several billion dollars from its market cap. 

Other popular trades from November, albeit with the lowest examples of buying sentiment, included Qantas (ASX: QAN), Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA), NAB (ASX: NAB), Mesoblast (ASX: MSB), and Vulcan Energy Resources (ASX: VUL). 

US funds were a strong performer last month, benefitting from the US presidential election. The iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV) rose from fourth to second among the most traded ETFs, with conviction up 2.6 percentage points. 

Likewise, Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) also saw a pick-up in buying sentiment, with the buy-to-sell ratio up 1.1 percentage points. 

One of the biggest beneficiaries of last month’s US fanfare were the Vanguard U.S. Total Market Shares Index ETF (ASX: VTS), up from 10th to sixth. 

What are the most popular ASX shares and ETFs? 

Washington H Soul Pattinson & Co (ASX: SOL) and Woolworths switched positions in 15th and 16th respectively, even as both shares recorded an increase in the value of overall Selfwealth holdings. However, the two companies’ fortunes could not be any different, as SOL traded within sight of a multi-year high, and WOW hit a multi-year low. 

Although Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) managed to retain its spot in 17th, of all the top holdings it posted the largest drop in value across all community holdings through November. Net buying from Selfwealth investors proved to be insufficient in arresting the stock’s slide, which ranked 11th on several occasions last year. The stock was circling a two-year low at the end of the month, declining 16.1%. Headwinds for the company included a subdued lithium price, and a recent downgrade to its production guidance. 

For the first time, Pro Medicus (ASX: PME) entered the top 20. The healthcare informatics company, whose shares were trading nearly 200% higher year-to-December, finished the month in 19th position. The rise coincided with a strong month for the business. It announced its US subsidiary, Visage Imaging, won a 10-year $330 million contract with not-for-profit healthcare operator Trinity Health. PME offers a cloud-based imaging platform, and over recent years, an increasing number of end users, including the North American healthcare market, have sought to adopt cloud-based solutions. 

And finally, there were no changes to the names or order of the most popular ETFs on the Selfwealth platform. Though, as touched on earlier, US-focused funds outperformed, with the iShares S&P 500 ETF and the Vanguard US Total Market Shares Index ETF each seeing more than 8% growth in holdings across the community. 

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