While the ASX briefly hit a seven-month high in mid-October, a bout of selling late in the month kept the local market gains in check, with the ASX 200 adding 1.9%.

One of the main catalysts for the rise last month, and in turn the outperformance compared with the US market, was the government Federal Budget, which in many quarters was deemed busy friendly'.

In addition, dovish rhetoric from the Reserve Bank of Australia all but confirmed it would cut rates in November, providing further impetus for the market. Nonetheless, the mood was dampened somewhat by the negotiations deadlock in the US regarding a new stimulus deal.

Once again, the information technology sector was instrumental to the rising market, albeit it was helped this time by the financials sector, where the banks were able to rebound strongly. Performance contrasted for stocks from the industrials, materials, utilities and telecoms services sectors, which weighed on the market.

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

Which shares and ETFs were the most held?

The leading shares held by Selfwealth members last month were notably similar as those of September, with some minor variances.

Money continued to pour into perennial favourite CSL (ASX: CSL), which sits convincingly atop the charts. While the stock was largely flat across October, edging out a narrow gain of 0.2% for the month, the value of holdings in CSL shares rose by 12.9% across the Selfwealth community. This includes new sign-ups, however, a large driver of the growth was investors topping up their holdings.After a month of being on the outer amid the threat of new competition from PayPal in the buy-now pay-later segment, Afterpay (ASX: APT) and Zip Co (ASX: Z1P) both gained popularity once again. The duo ranked as the 6th and 12th most-held shares.

Interestingly enough, between the pair, only Afterpay share price rose last month, with the stock gaining 20.9% on the back of a strong third-quarter trading update showing significant growth in underlying merchant sales. This share price appreciation was the driver of the increase in the value of members' holdings in the stock. In contrast, Zip shares dipped by 7.3%, although it appears investors were prepared to buy the dip, as the value of members' holdings in Zip shares actually jumped by 29% month-on-month.

For the first time, Flight Centre (ASX: FLT) made an appearance in the top 20 most-held shares across our online share trading platform, coming in at number 17. That move came despite the company share price plummeting by 18.2% last month. It is likely that investors were buying the dip in anticipation of news surrounding the reopening of state borders in Australia, Melbourne suppression of the Coronavirus, as well as the launch of the New Zealand travel bubble.In turn, shares in Woolworths (ASX: WOW) slipped out of the list for the first time since we began analysing Selfwealth trading trends a year ago. The stock has previously been a stalwart in the portfolios of many Selfwealth members, although in recent times it has gradually eased down the list as we witness a greater preference for growth stocks and contrarian plays.StockCompany1CSLCSL Limited2CBACommonwealth Bank3WBCWestpac4NABNational Australia Bank5MQGMacquarie Group6APTAfterpay7SWFSelfwealth8ANZAustralia and New Zealand Banking Group9AFIAustralian Foundation Inv10BHPBHP11TLSTelstra12Z1PZip Co13WPLWoodside Petroleum14FMGFortescue Metals Group15WESWesfarmers16NEUNeuren Pharmaceuticals17FLTFlight Centre18MLTMilton Corp19ARGArgo Investments20QANQantasThe list of the most-held ETFs was identical versus September, with mid-to-high single-digit growth in holdings witnessed across nearly all of the leading ETFs. The only ETF to witness an outflow of funds was the AAA Australian High Interest Cash ETF (ASX: AAA), which reversed its trend from the month prior.One ETF that is emerging very quickly is the BetaShares Asia Technology Tigers ETF (ASX: ASIA), which now sits just outside the top 10. Coming in at number 11 on the list, Selfwealth members' holdings in the ETF are only 5% off those who hold the SPDR S&P/ASX 200 Fund (ASX: STW). At the current rate of growth, it would not surprise us if the ASIA' fund features higher on our list in the near-future.

The ASIA' ETF provides investors with exposure to the 50 largest Asian technology companies, ex-Japan. Given the Asia region has fared better than many other parts of the world in combatting COVID, as well as investors' appetite for tech stocks in recent times, the fund recorded a gain of 42.2% in the six months up til the end of October.

ETFCompany1VASVanguard Australian Shares Index ETF2VDHGVanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF3VGSVanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF4VTSVanguard U.S. Total Market Shares Index ETF5A200BetaShares Australia 200 ETF6AAAAAA Australian High Interest Cash ETF7IVVIshares S&P 500 ETF8NDQBetashares Nasdaq 100 ETF9VEUVanguard All-World ex-U.S. Shares Index ETF10STWSPDR S&P/ASX 200 Fund

Which shares and ETFs were the most traded?

For the first time since June, the Betashares Australian Equities Strong Bear Hedge Fund (ASX: BBOZ) was the most-traded stock among Selfwealth members. Trading of the inverse-leveraged ETF was 58.9% higher than September, with traders buying into the short' fund despite the ASX hitting a seven-month high at the time.Elsewhere, trading data showed that Flight Centre (ASX: FLT) wasn't just a favourite among long-term holders, but also traders. The travel agent featured as the third most-held share across the Selfwealth community in October, its highest-ever position. There were more than 1,500 orders involving FLT shares, with speculation around domestic travel proving a catalyst for the action.Mesoblast (ASX: MSB) was also on the radar of the Selfwealth community, with the stock notching up a record position as the fifth most-traded stock by value. A large part of the trading activity was driven by the company setback with the FDA, which sent its shares tumbling lower. However, there was strong buying support for the stock centred on a rebound' thesis, with countless trades after the fall. Mesoblast was the third most-traded stock by total order numbers.There was a new micro stock in favour last month as Douugh (ASX: DOU) listed on the ASX following a reverse takeover of ZipTel. After completing a $6 million raise, the fintech app, which has drawn comparisons to a neobank, stormed higher and at one stage had soared more than 700% from its listing price. Shares in Douugh were at the centre of nearly 4,000 trades across the Selfwealth share trading platform last month, second only to Zip Co. The stock also set a Selfwealth record as the smallest company we've seen achieve such lofty heights in terms of the value of shares exchanged.Rounding things out, further down the list among some of the regular names was another new entrant, IOUpay (ASX: IOU). Following its rebrand in September, the fintech business focuses on digital payments solutions and offers mobile banking products to corporates in the Southeast Asia region. Amid a frenzy for established payments providers across the ASX, traders were keen to gain exposure to the newest entrant in the payments sector, with over 1,700 trades involving the stock.Top 20 stocks traded by valueCodeSecurity1BBOZBetashares Australian Equities Strong Bear Hedge Fund2Z1PZip Co3FLTFlight Centre4APTAfterpay5MSBMesoblast6CSLCSL7DOUDouugh8TLSTelstra9WBCWestpac10ANZANZ11NABNAB12GEARBetashares Geared Australian Equity Fund13FMGFortescue Metals Group14VASVanguard Australian Shares Index ETF15IOUIOUpay16MQGMacquarie Group17A2MA2 Milk18VDHGVanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF19CBACommonwealth Bank20BBUSBBUS U.S Equities Strong Bear Fund

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