Against the odds, the US stock market bounced back strongly last month, with the Federal Reserve first rate hike since 2018 proving a catalyst for the market in providing more certainty to investors.

Tech stocks were at the forefront of the rally, with large-cap companies best-positioned in gaining the attention of traders and long-term investors alike. 

The S&P 500 led the way with a monthly gain of 3.6%, the Nasdaq followed with 3.4%, while the Dow Jones also posted a solid increase of 2.3%. Those figures underplay the extent of the volatility across the market last month, with the key indexes down by mid-to-high single-digit percentages at one point, while the true scale of their rebound mirrored those numbers in positive territory.

How did Selfwealth members respond to the action? We'll take a look.

US share trading activity

Ever the dependable, Selfwealth members are almost in unison when it comes to their outlook on high-profile tech names like Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL), Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL), Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) and Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), with buying activity in these names outstripping selling activity by a factor of at least 4:1. In each case, more than 80% of all orders filled by value in these stocks were buy orders, indicating high conviction in these bellwether names.However, while the bulls' might be keen to flock to mega-tech names, it didn't stop some investors from seeking out ETFs that bet against the market, suggesting some hedging or lack of confidence in the rest of the pack when it comes to the tech sector. In particular, heightened trading in the Direxion Daily FTSE China Bear 3x Shares ETF (NYSE: YANG) was evidence of a niche position wagering on a slump in the 50-largest Chinese stocks traded in Hong Kong, where lockdowns and regulatory actions from the Chinese government have been among the watch-points for investors.But it wasn't just Chinese companies being singled out, with the ProShares UltraPro Short S&P500 (NYSE: SPXU) and ProShares UltraPro Short Russell2000 ETF (NYSE: SRTY) drawing a large number of buyers prepared to bet against the market as a whole, and holders abandoning ship when it came to the bullish' ProShares UltraPro S&P500 ETF (NYSE: UPRO).Elsewhere, GameStop (NYSE: GME) was back in the thick of the action last month. The stock actually climbed more than one-third throughout the course of March, with the Reddit crowd delighted by news that the company's chairman, Ryan Cohen, bought another 100,000 shares in the business. Despite the stock stellar performance last month, sellers represented the majority of participants trading the stock across the Selfwealth platform, suggesting some investors were keen to sell into the rally and take profits.On the other hand, one company where buyers were firmly driving the action was payments giant PayPal (NASDAQ: PYPL). The company has had a torrid time in recent months following its lacklustre quarterly earnings report at the start of February, and although the stock only inched marginally higher in March, it appears some members from the Selfwealth community are banking on a turnaround as growth stocks come back into vogue.Top 20 stocks traded by valueCode SecurityBuy-sell Ratio1SQQQProShares UltraPro Short QQQ ETF50.2%2TSLATesla54.0%3TQQQProShares UltraPro QQQ52.3%4BABAAlibaba66.0%5NVDANvidia57.2%6GOOGLAlphabet80.3%7AAPLApple82.4%8FBMeta76.9%9UPROProShares UltraPro S&P50038.2%10SPXUProShares UltraPro Short S&P50053.1%11MSFTMicrosoft85.2%12UPSTUpstart Holdings67.3%13GMEGameStop46.2%14AMZNAmazon87.2%15YANGDirexion Daily FTSE China Bear 3x Shares62.8%16OPENOpendoor Technologies57.1%17PYPLPayPal75.2%18AMDAdvanced Micro Devices57.7%19SRTYProShares UltraPro Short Russell2000 ETF53.0%20SUSuncor Energy1.2%

Which US shares are the most held?

There are no changes at the top of the list of the most-held US stocks across the Selfwealth community, with Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) maintaining its dominance as a long-term investment. The electric vehicle pioneer had a blistering month, retopping a US$1 trillion valuation ahead of the opening of its Giga factories in Berlin - which has since opened - and Texas. Tesla was also able to successfully pass on two separate price hikes during the month, while external supply chain analysis had the company vehicle deliveries tracking ahead of expectations towards a record. It also proposed its second stock split in under two years, spurring late-month buying support.For the first time since US trading was launched on the Selfwealth platform, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) became the second most-popular stock by value. The tech giant enjoyed an 11-day winning streak at one point, its longest consecutive run of daily gains since 2003. That came as investors upped their support for mega-tech stocks after a short period of weakness that some may say was a buying opportunity.That same renewed confidence in tech was also something that helped the likes of Meta Platforms (NASDAQ: FB), formerly Facebook, climb up the list to record its highest ranking in the community. It is now the 11th most-popular stock by value, and while the stock only gained 5.4% in March, it actually rose more than 20% from its mid-month low. It was also that low point that acted as a catalyst for fresh investors to swoop in, as highlighted by the 28.4% increase in the collective value of FB shares held by Selfwealth members versus the month prior.And lastly, for the first time since November, AMC Entertainment (NYSE: AMC) returned to the list of the most-popular US stocks. Shares in the movie theatre operator soared more than 30% across the course of the month. At one stage, gains were even greater as the company enjoyed its best one-day trading session since June, 2021, with Reddit again driving up the stock on the back of signs the company turnaround is gaining momentum, and a left-field decision by the firm to diversify into precious metals by taking a stake in gold and silver miner Hycroft Mining Holding (NASDAQ: HYMC).US StockCompany1TSLATesla2AAPLApple3RYRoyal Bank of Canada4GMEGameStop5MSFTMicrosoft6GOOGLAlphabet7AMZNAmazon8BABAAlibaba9NVDANvidia10BRK.BBerkshire Hathaway11FBMeta12PLTRPalantir13ARKKARK Innovation ETF14ENBEnbridge15VOOVanguard 500 Index Fund ETF16AMDAdvanced Micro Devices17AMCAMC Entertainment18BCEBCE19BNSBank of Nova Scotia20TDBank of Montreal

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