This article was produced 5 March 2025.

Key takeaways: 

• Earnings season sell-offs proved to be a major focal point for the Selfwealth community, with investors heavily backing names like FMG, CSL, MIN, PLS, WTC and the ‘Big Four’. 

• ASX-focused ETFs saw a turnaround in buying sentiment last month. 

• It is important to always do your own research before making decisions to invest. Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. 

With reporting season in full swing last month, investors digested results from Australia’s biggest companies, with the period overshadowing the first interest rate cut from the Reserve Bank of Australia in four-and-a-half years. 

Over the course of the month, the S&P/ASX 200 declined 4.2%, all but wiping out the gains recorded during the opening month of the year. 

In contrast to the US markets, a poor showing from the Information Technology sector weighed on the ASX, as did negative returns from the Energy, Health Care, Real Estate, and Financials sectors. 

On the other hand, there were some green shoots among the Consumer Staples, Industrials, and Telecommunications sectors. 

Here’s a round-up covering last month’s trading action within the Selfwealth community. 

ASX share trading activity 

Last month’s most traded stock was Fortescue (ASX: FMG), with trades in the iron ore miner up 20.6% over the period. At the same time, buying conviction also increased by 7.9 percentage points to 64.0%. Across the course of February, FMG shares declined 13.7%, which may have been one of the catalysts for the uptick in buying activity through the month.  

A sell-off followed the company’s half-year results, which showed a 20% decrease in revenue and a 53% slump in net profit compared with a year ago. The miner also slashed its dividend by more than half. Among the headwinds cited by the firm, inflationary pressure contributed to higher costs, while average iron ore prices were markedly lower against the prior corresponding period. 

Meanwhile, in fourth spot, CSL (ASX: CSL) was also a popular trade last month. Trading activity in the biotechnology giant more than doubled over the month, once again, largely on account of a post-results market sell-off.  

With over two-thirds of all trades being buys, Selfwealth investors were bullish in light of the stock’s 7.1% decline in February. The decline was prompted by a first-half result that leaves the company needing to double the rate of its forecast full-year growth in the second half just to meet the lower end of its guidance range. 

With a similar story, and finding itself on the outer, Mineral Resources (ASX: MIN) completes the top five from February. That was a significant increase from January, when the stock ranked 15th by trade volumes. MIN shares plummeted over 35% last month, which led to overall trade numbers surging 125% month-over-month, and buying conviction rising 15.1 percentage points.  

It appears that Selfwealth investors were prepared to look past a sequence of negative figures from the miner’s first half report, including a significant drop in EBITDA, hundreds of millions of dollars in impairment charges, and a statutory loss for the period. 

The trend continued with other large-cap names under the microscope amid earnings season, including Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) and WiseTech Global (ASX: WTC), with the duo shedding 17% and 27.7% of their valuations respectively. 

However, once again, Selfwealth members took these selloffs as an opportunity to buy shares in these stocks. In the case of PLS, trade volumes rose 34.9% over the month, with buying conviction up 14.3 percentage points, while trade volumes in WTC more than doubled, with the stock recording the equal highest buying conviction among all names in the top 20. 

It would be remiss not to mention the other name which shared the equal highest buying conviction through the month, which was Telix Pharmaceuticals (ASX: TLX). Unlike other companies mentioned so far, trading in TLX fluctuated through the month, between gains and losses, as the company managed to beat its full-year sales guidance, which saw its share price surge on the day of its results. 

After signs of diminishing conviction in January, there was a reversal in sentiment for ASX-oriented funds last month. For example, the most actively traded ETF, the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS), posted an 8.6 percentage point improvement in buying conviction.  

This observation was also witnessed across other ASX-focused funds, including but not limited to the Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF (ASX: VHY). 

Following the completion of its $34 billion merger with Chemist Warehouse, Sigma Healthcare (ASX: SIG) emerged as a volatile trade through February. The ensuing result meant that a significant value of capital was traded in the pharmacy operator, with nearly $36 million worth of SIG shares traded on the Selfwealth platform last month.  

Nearly two-thirds of this was associated with selling activity, which was likely attributable to the merger serving as a liquidity event for existing shareholders waiting for the transaction to be completed. 

Meanwhile, Mineral Resources, which was already the fifth most traded ASX stock by value, ranked 11th in terms of money flow. That was three places higher than the corresponding result from January, when MIN finished the month in 11th spot.  

With the share prices of Australia’s major banks retreating last month, there was some improvement in terms of sentiment for the likes of Westpac (ASX: WBC), ANZ (ASX: ANZ), and NAB (ASX: NAB). Although the buy-to-sell ratios for the first two were still below 50%, the month-over-month improvements in sentiment for the pair were 14.1 and 12.5 percentage points respectively. 

In the case of ETFs with an international focus, money flow was elevated, with buying conviction particularly high. The iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV) recorded a buy-to-sell ratio of 62.8%, while the same metric for the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) was 67.1%, highlighting a strong flow of money into these two funds. 

What are the most popular ASX shares and ETFs? 

A stalwart at the top of the list for the most popular shares in the Selfwealth community, Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) extended its lead. CBA set a record high before the bank’s first-half results and a broader market pull-back saw its share price drift lower for the month.  

Nonetheless, the collective value of CBA shares on the platform rose 6.2% last month, which is indicative of buying support.  

In contrast, NAB saw a rather sizeable decline in the value of community holdings, which shrunk by 11.1%. However, that was broadly in line with the stock’s underlying performance. The bank saw its shares decline 12% last month, including an 8% drop on the day of its quarterly report, which showed shrinking margins, higher expenses, and increasing arrears on its books. Considering this action, NAB dropped one spot to seventh. 

As noted earlier, the merger between Sigma Healthcare and Chemist Warehouse catapulted the new entity into the limelight, and consequently, SIG suddenly found itself ranked as the sixth most held stock by value in the Selfwealth community. 

Among other movements, Fortescue shed two spots, finishing the month in 12th spot, with total Selfwealth holdings down 5.9%. Despite the same segment headwinds, and its own share price decline for the month, the total value of Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) shares on the platform increased through the month, growing by 6.0%. This corresponds with strong buying activity shown above, both by value, and volumes. At the end of the month, Rio Tinto was the 14th most held ASX company. 

Rounding things out, Woolworths (ASX: WOW) finished the month one spot lower in 16th position. Total holdings across all Selfwealth members contracted nearly 7%, far worse than the 1.5% decline in WOW’s share price. However, per earlier data, with just 39.1% of last month’s money flow in WOW being buys, some investors cut ties with the stock ahead of its earnings report. 

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