Key takeaways:

• Nvidia’s record run attracted a wave of enthusiasm for the stock, while also providing some support for other semiconductor shares like Broadcom, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, and Advanced Micro Devices.

• As bitcoin prices pared some of this year’s gains, bitcoin-related ETFs featured among the most popular trades in the fund cohort. Investors should continue to do their own research in this space.

• Meta and Apple found themselves out of favour compared with other mega-tech names like Microsoft, Amazon, and Alphabet.

• US shares extended year-to-date gains in another tech-led rally throughout June. With last month’s inflation data suggesting continual progress in the fight to return consumer price growth back to the Federal Reserve’s benchmark target, the overall market mood was optimistic.

In terms of performances, the Dow Jones advanced 1.1%, while the S&P 500 gained 3.5%. However, it was the return for the Nasdaq Composite that told a story, with the index surging 6.0%.

As investing themes like semiconductors, artificial intelligence, interest rate cuts, and bitcoin prices dominated the narrative, we look at the shares that drew the most attention within the Selfwealth community during June.

US share trading activity

Chip-maker Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) briefly became the world’s most valuable publicly listed company, with trade interest in the flagbearer for artificial intelligence accelerating over the month. Selfwealth trade numbers more than tripled compared with those from May, with over 80% of trades being buys.

Among top 20 names, Nvidia saw the highest level of buying conviction, and it coincided with last month’s 10-for-1 stock split, which resulted in the stock being more accessible to retail investors on account of the lower price per share. In June, NVDA shares gained 12.7%, but at one stage were trading as much as 20% higher.

In May, GameStop (NYSE: GME) found itself the most actively traded US stock within the Selfwealth community. On this occasion, in June, while it was eclipsed by Nvidia, the total volume of trades in the stock rose 30% month-over-month.

In addition, there was a significant surge in buying conviction, with the stock’s buy-to-sell ratio up nearly 30 percentage points to 71.0%. Once again, prominent volatility was a hallmark of trading in GME, and the company opted to conduct its second stock offer in the space of a month, despite reporting a drop in sales.

If Nvidia and GameStop were drawing high levels of buying conviction from traders and investors alike, it was a different story for Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META), which recorded the weakest buy conviction at just 28.6%. Overall, nearly three-quarters of all trades in the social media giant were sells.

With no immediate explanation for the ‘bearish’ result - the stock rallied 8% last month and circled an all-time high - a look at recent months shows that since October 2023, there have only been two instances where Meta recorded a monthly buy-to-sell ratio above 50%. These two instances were around the time the company’s share price dropped sharply following its last earnings report, which suggests profit taking may have had a role to play during other months, including June.

Elsewhere, tech remained a favoured investing theme among Selfwealth members, especially mega-tech, albeit sentiment favoured the likes of Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD), Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT), and Alphabet (NASDAQ: AAPL) over Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), where sales accounted for the most trading activity.

In line with popularity surrounding Nvidia, the corresponding GraniteShares 2x Long NVDA Daily ETF (NASDAQ: NVDL) also enjoyed a surge in interest through the month. As the most traded US ETF on the Selfwealth platform in June, nearly two-thirds of all trades in the leveraged ETF were ‘buys’, and overall trade numbers nearly tripled versus the prior month.

Another trend last month saw bitcoin-related GraniteShares 2x Long COIN Daily ETF (NASDAQ: CONL) and YieldMax COIN Option Income Strategy ETF (NYSE: CONY) attract greater trading interest than normal, which may have been prompted by a 7% decline in the price of bitcoin last month.

Recording its highest-ever result for money flow, both in terms of ranking and absolute value of shares traded, Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA) placed fourth last month. It was a largely uneventful month for the company, but with its earnings due at the start of July, it may have been the case that Selfwealth members were positioning themselves for said results, and the broader decline in bitcoin prices during the month.

One spot further back, GigaCloud Technology (NASDAQ: GCT) also recorded a platform-high ranking of fifth for money flow. The B2B marketplace provider, which draws revenue from platform transactions and charges for warehousing and delivery, has delivered a year-to-date return of about 60%, and returned more than 300% over the last year.

At the end of May, the stock was targeted with a ‘short report’ by Grizzly Research, however, the company’s statement of rebuttal, and elevated short interest at nearly 20% of its float, have drawn interest from investors, notably from the Reddit community, eyeing a potential ‘short squeeze’.

Semiconductor and infrastructure software solutions provider Broadcom (NASDAQ: AVGO) also made a break higher, landing in eighth - its first time inside the top 20. A slight majority of money flow was supportive of buying. Last month, the company announced a 43% increase in revenue during its fiscal second quarter, with AI-related revenue up 280% year-over-year. Like Nvidia, Broadcom announced a 10-for-1 stock split, and enthusiasm for the former may have aided the latter.

And finally, recently listed Trump Media & Technology Group (NASDAQ: DJT) was the 10th most traded US share by value in June. Across millions of dollars in trades, Selfwealth conviction was broadly split down the middle. Since listing in March, the stock has recorded significant bouts of volatility, with last month no exception. However, money flow in DJT became more pronounced in the lead-up to and following the highly publicised first presidential debate.

Which US shares are the most held?

Courtesy of a strong performance, and the robust buying interest, Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) closed the gap at the top of the list for the most held US shares in the Selfwealth community. Nonetheless, it wasn’t enough to dislodge Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA), which benefitted from a double-digit share price gain last month. The collective value of Nvidia holdings within the community grew by 14.7%, which was the third-largest increase among any name in the top 20 cohort.

The following eight names maintained their top 20 rankings from May, but Palantir (NYSE: PLTR) moved two spots higher into 11th place. Shares in the big data analytics firm touched a multi-year high, with a major driving point being its exposure to artificial intelligence amid a sector-wide boom. Last month also brought heightened speculation that the share could be added to the S&P 500 index, having previously been overlooked on several occasions, although once again that did not materialise.

The total value of GameStop (NYSE: GME) holdings among Selfwealth members rose by 7.9%, outpacing the stock’s underlying share price increase for the month. It was enough to see GME slingshot back up to 13th, just a few months after falling outside the top 20 for the first time. As noted, the stock’s resurgence follows notable publicity associated with the return of one of the original investors who made the case for the 2021 Reddit-inspired GameStop short squeeze.

Rounding out the top 20, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM) made only its second-ever appearance among this cohort. On the last occasion, back in May 2021, TSM was also ranked 20th. Up until February this year, the stock had largely traded sideways during that period, but with semiconductor shares enjoying broad support amid Nvidia’s meteoric rise, TSM finds itself a popular name among Selfwealth members eyeing exposure to the segment.

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