Key takeaways:

• Individual records tumbled for Apple and Tesla as investors maintained a close eye on share price momentum for key names

The US stock market extended its strong run in June, with each of the major benchmark indexes climbing higher amid risk-on appetite.

With the Federal Reserve opting to deliver its first pause on interest rates since it began tightening monetary policy, investors were buoyed by the prospect that the world most important central bank could be nearing the end of its rate hike campaign.

Across the course of the month the Nasdaq delivered a return of 6.6%, slightly ahead of the S&P 500, which gained 6.5%. The Dow Jones also yielded a strong result, gaining 4.6%.

Amid that backdrop, these were the most popular US shares on the Selfwealth platform last month.

US share trading activity

With shares in Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) setting a new all-time high, the stock was a popular trade among Selfwealth members. More than seven out of every ten trades in AAPL were buy orders, and total trades grew more than 50% month-over-month as investors clearly favoured the momentum of the iconic iPhone manufacturer. Furthermore, investors seem undeterred by the company valuation, which recently surpassed US$3 trillion.One tech company going in the opposite direction last month was Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META). Down in ninth position, just 35.1% of all trades in the parent company of Facebook and Instagram were buy orders. The overwhelming level of selling activity was likely driven by profit taking, with the stock trading at its highest level in 17 months, and up more than 130% year-to-date. Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) made a return to the list of the most traded US stocks on the Selfwealth platform. Shares in Coinbase advanced 15% throughout June, which was largely a reflection of a rally in bitcoin prices. The price of bitcoin jumped around 12% last month, and with Coinbase fortunes directly linked to sentiment in the crypto market, it no surprise there was a spike in trades for COIN.Meanwhile, the artificial intelligence (AI) thematic is still running strong within the community. Semiconductor stocks like Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) were a popular trade in June, ranking third, while Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Palantir (NYSE: PLTR), among others, also drew widespread interest from investors and traders alike.

Top 20 stocks by Trade Number, with Buy:Sell Ratio (%)

1. Tesla 53.6%

2. Apple 70.3%

3. Nvidia 45.9%

4. Amazon 60.8%

5. Alphabet 66.4%

6. ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ ETF 61.3%

7. Microsoft 54.6%

8. Advanced Micro Devices 52.6%

9. Meta Platforms3 5.1%

10. Palantir 63.0%

11. Bank of America 62.5%

12. ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas 50.7%

13. ProShares UltraPro QQQ 44.4%

14. Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF 70.2%

15. Walt Disney 77.4%

16. Alibaba 55.1%

17. Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bear 3X Shares 61.2%

18. Coinbase 50.0%

19. Netflix 39.6%

20. Citibank 50.0%

Money flow across the top 20 stocks traded by value was remarkably even during June, which may be an indicator that the Selfwealth community is divided over where to next for markets.

While tech had a major presence, it was financials that continued to represent the largest source of money flow on the Selfwealth platform. Bank of America (NYSE: BAC) and Citibank (NYSE: C) were well out in front of the pack, while PacWest Bancorp (NYSE: PACW) attracted another round of fund inflows and outflows as traders took up positions in light of the uncertain economic outlook.Amid a transformation of sorts, Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) also garnered above-average monthly money flow. The media streaming giant has made a strategic pivot, with a password sharing crackdown at the centre of its efforts to grow revenue. Wall Street appears on board with the plan, with NFLX shares up more than 50% year-to-date. Some investors may be positioning ahead of the company quarterly results in a fortnight.

Top 20 stocks traded by dollar value with Buy:Sell Ratio (%)

1. Bank of America 49.9%

2. Citibank 49.6%

3. Tesla 50.1%

4. ProShares UltraPro Short QQQ ETF 48.2%

5. Bank of Montreal MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Leveraged 49.8%

6. Microsoft 49.4%

7. ProShares UltraPro QQQ 49.5%

8. ProShares UltraPro Short Russell2000 ETF 50.4%

9. Apple 51.4%

10. Bank of Montreal MicroSectors FANG Index 3X Inverse Leveraged ETN 49.9%

11. ProShares UltraPro Short S&P500 50.0%

12. ProShares UltraPro Russell2000 44.5%

13. PacWest Bancorp 49.7%

14. Nvidia 44.9%

15. Alphabet 47.7%

16. ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas 52.3%

17. Direxion Daily Semiconductor Bull 3X Shares 50.6%

18. Amazon 48.6%

19. ProShares UltraPro S&P500 49.7%

20. Netflix 47.9%

Which US shares are the most held?

Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) sits comfortably atop the list of the most popular US shares in the Selfwealth community, thanks in no small part to another standout showing in June. Even though the stock remains well off its all-time high, TSLA shares advanced nearly 30% last month. That increase aligned almost exactly with the percentage by which community holdings grew. 

Perhaps more tellingly, the total value of TSLA shares across all Selfwealth accounts reached a record high, which is the culmination of consistent interest in the stock month-to-month.

Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) and Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: META) switched positions in the charts, with the former climbing one spot into seventh place, and the latter dropping to eighth. As mentioned earlier, it appears as though profit taking weighed on Meta, whereas Berkshire ascent was aided by a 6% gain in its share price. Only a handful of names saw a net outflow in terms of holdings last month, including Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), GameStop (NYSE: GME), and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD). In the case of GameStop and AMD, the outflow was practically negligible, each shrinking by less than 1%, but combined holdings in Alphabet contracted 3% as the stock underperformed its peers last month.

US StockCompany

1. Tesla

2. Apple

3. Microsoft

4. Alphabet

5. Royal Bank of Canada

6. Amazon

7. Berkshire Hathaway (B)

8. Meta Platforms

9. Nvidia

10. Alibaba

11. GameStop

12. Vanguard 500 Index Fund ETF

13. Palantir

14. ProShares UltraPro QQQ

15. Advanced Micro Devices

16. Invesco QQQ Trust Series 1

17. Enbridge

18. ARK Innovation ETF

19. PayPal

20. Toronto-Dominion Bank

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