It was a month of two halves, with stocks bursting out of the gate in early February only to see gains trimmed late in the month as the war in Ukraine shocked onlookers around the world.

The energy and materials sectors largely shielded the ASX from a negative month as oil, gold and other metals prices rallied strongly. Consumer staples also held up well as investors rotated into more defensive holdings, reducing exposure to tech and consumer discretionary businesses.

With the ASX 200 gaining 1.1% across the course of the month, here is what your peers were buying and selling.

Which shares and ETFs are the most held?

It is an unchanged line-up at the top of the list of the most-held ASX shares on the Selfwealth trading platform, with stalwarts like Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA), Westpac (ASX: WBC) and CSL (ASX: CSL) entrenching their clear-cut popularity, while BHP (ASX: BHP) extended the gap on the next best-placed name in NAB (ASX: NAB).

The banks have for the most part maintained the attention of retail shareholders amid expectations the Reserve Bank of Australia will this year move to lift interest rates for the first time in over a decade. Furthermore, reporting season proved to be an encouraging period for the banks, despite further warnings about a squeeze in net interest margins. 

Macquarie Group (ASX: MQG) is another name that was riding the momentum across the financials sector, moving into sixth position. The Selfwealth community holds a collective total of nearly $100 million worth of shares in the diversified bank, whereas a year ago it was just shy of $60 million.Whereas community holdings in BHP grew by 5.8%, despite the underlying stock rising by just 0.7% last month, its peer in Fortescue Metals Group (ASX: FMG) went in the other direction, with community holdings down more than 13% as the stock slumped 8.7%. Iron ore prices have been volatile in recent weeks as China seeks to regain some control around pricing, but it was FMG earnings report that prompted some shareholders to exit the stage as the company found it hard to match the standout results of the prior corresponding period.Woodside Petroleum (ASX: WPL) edged higher into 15th place as investors repositioned their portfolios to take advantage of a sharp rally in oil prices. Qantas (ASX: QAN) made a return to the list as Australia finally reopened its borders to international tourism and Perth moved to rejoin the rest of the country, something that had previously forced the national carrier to downgrade its capacity.Zip (ASX: Z1P) and Square (ASX: SQ2), formerly Afterpay, are still nowhere to be seen among the list of the most-held ASX stocks, while Brainchip (ASX: BRN) cameo in the top 20 proved to be short-lived solely due to a tumbling share price. 

Both Z1P and SQ2 have seen their share prices come under considerable pressure in recent times as investors shy away from the BNPL segment, albeit the latter staged a late-month rebound as the broader US payments company surprised to the upside when it handed down its earnings.

ASX StockCompany1CBACommonwealth Bank2WBCWestpac3CSLCSL4BHPBHP5NABNational Australia Bank6MQGMacquarie Group7AFIAustralian Foundation Inv8ANZAustralia and New Zealand Banking Group9FMGFortescue Metals Group10IHLIncannex Healthcare11TLSTelstra12NEUNeuren Pharmaceuticals13WESWesfarmers14RIORio Tinto15WPLWoodside Petroleum16PLSPilbara Minerals17FLTFlight Centre18QANQantas19ARGArgo Investments20WOWWoolworths

While there were no major changes to the most-popular ETFs across the Selfwealth share trading platform, the top five most-held ETFs are also the top five most-held securities of any type. They represent 21.7% of all holdings held under HIN, while the top ten account for 27.7% of all ASX securities by value.

ASX ETFsCompany1VASVanguard Australian Shares Index ETF2VDHGVanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF3VGSVanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF4IVVIshares S&P 500 ETF5VTSVanguard U.S. Total Market Shares Index ETF6A200BetaShares Australia 200 ETF7NDQBetashares Nasdaq 100 ETF8VEUVanguard All-World ex-U.S. Shares Index ETF9VHYVanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF10DHHFBetaShares Diversified All Growth ETF

ASX share trading activity

There is almost no better indicator that markets have turned volatile than when the Betashares Australian Equities Strong Bear Hedge Fund (ASX: BBOZ) appears near the top of the most actively-traded ASX stocks. With more than $40 million worth of trades in BBOZ last month, trading activity has been prompted by uncertainty engulfing the stock market, with interest rates soon tipped to rise both home and abroad, as well as the war in Ukraine. 

More broadly, seven of the top 20 most-traded ASX securities are now ETFs, and between all of them, there were nearly 7,500 trades in these ETFs throughout February. 

In what is perhaps a slight departure from normal, the level of buy-to-sell' activity in the Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS) was far lower than usual. By value, 59.7% of all trades in VAS were buy orders, and in terms of trades filled, the result was 61.6%. In past months, these two metrics have consistently pushed 70% and 90% respectively, suggesting some sellers have emerged in recent weeks, albeit not enough to dampen the status of VAS as the most-popular ETF.Wesfarmers (ASX: WES) might be a household name, but it was the first time the stock appeared on the list of the most-traded ASX names. Selfwealth members traded almost $22 million worth of shares in WES, and the vast majority, both by value (69%) and trades filled (76%), were skewed towards the buy side. The blue-chip stock has likely caught on among those who took notice of the fact the stock recently hit a 52-week low. That followed a disappointing earnings report where management unveiled lower profits due to COVID and supply chain disruption, and cut the dividend.Finally, Brainchip, Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) and Novonix (ASX: NVX) were among the other highly-traded ASX stocks, even as their share prices came unstuck in the midst of market volatility and risk-off sentiment. 

Here are the top 20 stocks traded by value along with their Buy-Sell Ratios:

1. WBC - Westpac (Buy-Sell Ratio: 44.3%)

2. FMG - Fortescue Metals Group (Buy-Sell Ratio: 46.8%)

3. MQG - Macquarie Group (Buy-Sell Ratio: 55.0%)

4. BHP - BHP (Buy-Sell Ratio: 55.5%)

5. CBA - Commonwealth Bank (Buy-Sell Ratio: 52.2%)

6. ANZ - ANZ (Buy-Sell Ratio: 56.8%)

7. BOZ - Betashares Australian Equities Strong Bear Hedge Fund (Buy-Sell Ratio: 50.9%)

8. CSL - CSL (Buy-Sell Ratio: 56.1%)

9. VAS - Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (Buy-Sell Ratio: 59.7%)

10. BRN - Brainchip (Buy-Sell Ratio: 49.4%)

11. VGS - Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (Buy-Sell Ratio: 79.6%)

12. GEAR - Betashares Geared Australian Equity Fund (Buy-Sell Ratio: 49.0%)

13. NDQ - Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (Buy-Sell Ratio: 50.5%)

14. FLT - Flight Centre (Buy-Sell Ratio: 42.5%)

15. VDHG - Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF (Buy-Sell Ratio: 77.7%)

16. IVV - iShares S&P 500 ETF (Buy-Sell Ratio: 59.1%)

17. RIO - Rio Tinto (Buy-Sell Ratio: 51.2%)

18. WES - Wesfarmers (Buy-Sell Ratio: 69.0%)

19. PLS - Pilbara Minerals (Buy-Sell Ratio: 56.5%)

20. NVX - Novonix (Buy-Sell Ratio: 51.7%)

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