The local share market reversed course late in the month to pare its monthly losses, but the benchmark ASX 200 still shed 1.4% across the course of the month.

Earnings season was a pivotal factor for the market at large, and a number of high-profile companies, while a weak lead from the US also posed a challenge.

Most sectors were in the red last month, particularly utilities, consumer staples, and health care, but the consumer discretionary sector was a notable exception. 

This is what the Selfwealth community were buying and selling in August.

What are the most popular ASX shares and ETFs?

There were no surprises at the top, with Commonwealth Bank’s (ASX: CBA) record full-year profit attracting a lot of scrutiny, but also cementing its position as the most popular ASX-listed stock. Selfwealth members overlooked moderation in the lender’s net interest margins in favour of its large dividend and plans for a $1 billion share buyback. Community holdings in CBA grew 2.8%, despite the stock posting a monthly decline of 3.3%.

Elsewhere, BHP (ASX: BHP) and Neuren Pharmaceuticals (ASX: NEU) swapped positions in second and third. Coincidentally, both saw a notable decrease in the collective value of their holdings, down 5.7% and 9.4% respectively. Unlike CBA, both of those figures were worse than the underlying performances of the head shares, suggesting Selfwealth members’ views towards these two names soured more than that of the broader market. 

One of the ASX’s best performing names in August, shares in conglomerate Wesfarmers (ASX: WES) gained 8.5% on the back of a strong set of numbers for fiscal 2023. The Kmart, Officeworks, and Bunnings owner delivered 18% revenue growth and a modest profit increase of 4.8% for the period, with its key brands holding up well amid a deterioration in consumer sentiment. Wesfarmers ended the month as the 13th most popular ASX share in the Selfwealth community.

ASX StockCompany1CBACommonwealth Bank2BHPBHP3NEUNeuren Pharmaceuticals4WBCWestpac5CSLCSL6NABNational Australia Bank7ANZAustralia and New Zealand Banking Group8MQGMacquarie Group9AFIAustralian Foundation Investment10FMGFortescue Metals Group11PLSPilbara Minerals12WDSWoodside Energy13WESWesfarmers14LTRLiontown Resources15TLSTelstra16RIORio Tinto17SOLWashington H. Soul Pattinson and Co18WOWWoolworths19ARGArgo Investments20FLTFlight Centre

While all of the ETFs featuring among the most actively traded names last month were carried over from July, there was a notable performer courtesy of the BetaShares Diversified All Growth ETF (ASX: DHHF). This fund yielded the largest monthly increase in value compared with the month prior, with the collective value of all holdings rising 4.6%, far outpacing an underlying gain of 0.4%.

ASX ETFsCompany1VASVanguard Australian Shares Index ETF2VGSVanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF3VDHGVanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF4IVVIshares S&P 500 ETF5A200BetaShares Australia 200 ETF6VTSVanguard U.S. Total Market Shares Index ETF7NDQBetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF8VHYVanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF9VEUVanguard All-World ex-U.S. Shares Index ETF10DHHFBetaShares Diversified All Growth ETF

ASX share trading activity

August saw a number of beaten-down names attract above-average trading activity, with the first of these being Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC), which ranked fifth for trades. Shares in the coal exporter fell 12% last month amid a weaker-than-expected coal output forecast for fiscal 2024. A significant increase in capital spending requirements also concerned the broader market, but Selfwealth members largely looked past the news, with buyers accounting for around two-thirds of all trades.

In sixth position, Resmed (ASX: RMD) made a rare appearance among the most traded stocks on the Selfwealth platform. While the company’s results, particularly gross margins, were partly to blame for a 24.2% share price slump, it was heightened fear about competition that had the most effect. Investors have increasingly grown concerned about the role that diabetes drugs could play in weight loss treatment, and in turn, reducing sleep apnea and the demand for Resmed’s medical devices.

Shareholders in Mesoblast (ASX: MSB) were left licking their wounds after a disastrous month for the regenerative medicine company. Shares in MSB plummeted 55.7% last month in light of the US Food and Drug Administration’s decision to reject Mesoblast’s Remstemcel-L cell therapy, designed to treat a type of complication that may occur following a stem cell or bone marrow transplant. For the most part, buyers bought the dip, with 69% of all trades being buy orders.

Supermarket giant Coles (ASX: COL) was the 11th most traded stock in August after its share price touched a 52-week low. The company joined a long list of names to fall victim to cost overruns, with the construction of its automated customer fulfilment centres in New South Wales and Victoria behind schedule and also set to run beyond budget. Higher wages and stock loss weighed on the market’s view, but over 80% of Selfwealth trades in Coles shares were buy orders.

Top 20 stocks by tradesCode Security

Buy-Sell Ratio

1. PLS Pilbara Minerals 64.5%

2. BHP BHP 69.4%

3. FMG Fortescue Metals Group 61.0%

4. CXO Core Lithium 64.4%

5. WHC Whitehaven Coal 65.1%

6. RMD Resmed 84.0%

7. CSL CSL 65.7%

8. MQG Macquarie Group 63.0%

9. SYA Sayona Mining 70.8%

10. MSB Mesoblast 69.0%

11. COL Coles 83.6%

12. WBC Westpac 62.1%

13. CBA Commonwealth Bank 65.1%

14. RIO Rio Tinto 67.4%

15. LKE Lake Resources 50.3%

16. QAN Qantas 57.9%

17. LRS Latin Resources 52.7%

18. AFI Australian Foundation Investment 82.8%

19. AKE Allkem 44.9%

20. WDS Woodside Energy 46.3%

On the whole, August saw a higher level of buying activity in ETFs compared with the month prior. Back in July, the buy-to-sell volume for the most traded ETF on the Selfwealth platform, the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS), was 79.7%. That figure increased by almost 5 percentage points last month. 

Similarly, buying activity represented a greater weight of all trades in the Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF (ASX: VDHG) and Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS), with their respective buy-to-sell ratios up 8.4 and 3 percentage points respectively.

Top 10 ETFs by tradesCode Security

Buy-Sell Ratio

1. VAS Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF 84.3%

2. VDHG Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF 79.6%

3. VGS Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF 83.1%

4. IVV Ishares S&P 500 ETF 85.1%

5. NDQ BetaShares Nasdaq 100 ETF 70.5%

6. A200 BetaShares Australia 200 ETF 83.2%

7. DHHF BetaShares Diversified All Growth ETF 84.8%

8. VTS Vanguard U.S. Total Market Shares Index ETF 75.1%

9. VHY Vanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF 77.0%

10. GEAR BetaShares Geared Australian Equity (Hedge Fund) 55.2%

Lithium miner Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) saw the most money flow of any stock across the Selfwealth platform last month, with approximately $67 million worth of PLS shares swapping hands. That was a month-over-month increase of 34%, coinciding with the company’s results for FY23. 

During the month Pilbara announced a record full-year net profit of $2.4 billion, which followed a near doubling in the price of the miner’s spodumene concentrate exports, as well as a 68% increase in sales volumes. While sellers took control on the day of the miner’s results, a slight majority of money flowed into the stock throughout August.

Another stock recording a large increase in money flow was Macquarie Group (ASX: MQG), which was the 7th most traded stock by value. The total value of Macquarie shares traded last month was up around 43% compared with July, which followed a pull-back in the bank’s share price towards its lowest level since the start of the year.

Rounding things out, tech flyer WiseTech Global (ASX: WTC) found itself the 15th most traded stock by value in the Selfwealth community. A major catalyst for the stock’s sudden notoriety was the volatility that accompanied its FY23 results, when the stock dropped almost 20% in a single trading session. While the logistics software provider reported strong growth across a number of metrics, the numbers fell short of estimates, particularly in light of the stock’s remarkable rally in 2023.

Top 20 securities traded by valueCode Security

Buy-Sell Ratio

1. PLS Pilbara Minerals 53.7%

2. LNA SGlobal X Ultra Long Nasdaq 100 Hedge Fund 50.0%

3. BBOZ Betashares Australian Equities Strong Bear Hedge Fund 46.5%

4. GEAR Betashares Geared Australian Equity Fund 50.3%

5. VAS Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF 72.8%

6. FMG Fortescue Metals 53.4%

7. MQG Macquarie Group 49.3%

8. BHP BHP 56.3%

9. CSL CSL 50.1%

10. CBA Commonwealth Bank 60.2%

11. AAA Betashares Australian High Interest Cash ETF 66.7%

12. SNAS ETFS Ultra Short Nasdaq 100 Hedge Fund 48.6%

13. WHC Whitehaven Coal 64.6%

14. WBC Westpac 52.0%

15. WTC WiseTech Global 50.8%

16. NAB National Australia Bank 40.3%

17. WDS Woodside Energy 38.8%

18. COL Coles 59.6%

19. RMD Resmed 74.8%

20. RIO Rio Tinto 54.9%

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