Key takeaways:

• Despite manufacturing headwinds in China, Tesla and Apple draw a huge increase in trading activity throughout November

A positive month for the US stock market was capped off by a big finish on the final day of November. With investors growing confident the Federal Reserve may soon ease the pace of its rate hike program, a range of sectors were in the green.

Of the three benchmark indexes, the Dow Jones was the best performing index last month. It gained 5.7%, while the S&P 500 increased by 5.4%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq also did well, climbing 4.4%, but its performance was ultimately weighed down by a couple high-profile laggards.

Here is your monthly recap on what the Selfwealth community was trading last month.

US share trading activity

Trading activity in Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) spiked approximately 60% last month, with a slight majority of trades by value (52.4%) supporting Elon Musk most well known venture. By trade numbers, Tesla was also the most active stock swapping hands. The total number of trades in Tesla last month was more than double the next-best stock in Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL).With Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) reportedly hit by production woes out of its China manufacturing hub, trading interest in the stock soared as bulls and bears fought a fierce battle. The total value of AAPL' shares traded last month on the Selfwealth platform increased nearly 270% versus October. That resulted in a community record for trade values in the iconic iPhone manufacturer.  A number of trades continue to zero in on key investing themes and macroeconomic events. For example, ProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas (NYSE: BOIL) and ProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Natural Gas (NYSE: KOLD), which both track gas prices, suggest the Selfwealth community sees higher gas prices ahead. This is evident from not only the majority buying stake in BOIL', but from the fact selling activity dominated proceedings for the short-oriented KOLD' ETF.Residential real estate broker Redfin (NASDAQ: RDFN) was in the news last month, and that also meant Selfwealth members increased trading in the stock. One of the key drivers was news that the business would close its home-flipping operations. That followed a weak earnings report where listings have dived due to soaring interest rates, and profits have tumbled.Nio (NYSE: NIO) concluded last month as one of the most actively traded stocks on the Selfwealth platform. The electric vehicle manufacturer, which is going head to head with Tesla among others, was at the centre of conjecture over the fate of China COVID-zero policy. We also saw interest in the iShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF (NYSE: SGOV). This follows a strong surge in yields for short-dated bonds, with the Federal Reserve rate hike program a primary catalyst. Top 20 stocks traded by valueCode SecurityBuy-sell Ratio1TQQQProShares UltraPro QQQ ETF50.3%2SQQQProShares UltraPro Short QQQ ETF49.1%3TSLATesla52.4%4AAPLApple50.1%5GOOGAlphabet51.5%6AMDAdvanced Micro Devices49.9%7MSFTMicrosoft50.6%8BACBank of America49.8%9CCitibank49.8%10JPMJPMorgan49.7%11BOILProShares Ultra Bloomberg Natural Gas56.5%12WFCWells Fargo & Co50.0%13KOLDProShares UltraShort Bloomberg Natural Gas43.2%14LABDDirexion Daily S&P Biotech Bear 3X Shares57.2%15RDFNRedfin45.5%16NIONio46.6%17AMZNAmazon85.4%18NVDANvidia49.8%19SGOViShares 0-3 Month Treasury Bond ETF55.2%20METAMeta Platforms59.9%

Which US shares are the most held?

All the usual suspects feature among the list of the most held US stocks on the Selfwealth platform. However, despite what was otherwise a positive month for tech stocks, some key names recorded a net outflow in holdings last month.

Holdings in Tesla, Apple, and e-commerce behemoth Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) all decreased across the course of November. In the case of both Tesla and Apple, the duo have been affected by unrest in China. 

With COVID restrictions still in force across much of the country, Tesla and Apple are dealing with manufacturing bottlenecks and concerns about subsiding demand. Production output is also a pressing concern. Apple key supplier Foxconn lost thousands of staff en masse after riots broke out at its manufacturing facility. 

In contrast to the above, Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) defied COVID disruption in China to post a strong month. The stock gained 37.7% in November, while growth in BABA' holdings across the community was a little more muted at around 25%. The stock rallied on a modest easing of COVID restrictions, with Alibaba proving less vulnerable than the above tech names dependent on manufacturing activity in the world second largest economy.Elsewhere, Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) moved up to 15th position among the most held US stocks. Semiconductor stocks had a positive month following news that Warren Buffett Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) was taking up a major stake in the world leading foundry, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NYSE: TSM). That development fuelled positive sentiment across the sector.And lastly, big data software firm Palantir (NYSE: PLTR) dropped to 17th position. That is the stock equal-lowest ranking in the Selfwealth community, and it is now in danger of slipping out of the top 20. Palantir woes have been compounded lately by an earnings miss, as well as a chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by a company that happens to be one of its key investments.US StockCompany1TSLATesla2AAPLApple3RYRoyal Bank of Canada4MSFTMicrosoft5GOOGLAlphabet6AMZNAmazon7BRK.BBerkshire Hathaway8GMEGameStop9BABAAlibaba10VOOVanguard 500 Index Fund ETF11NVDANvidia12ENBEnbridge13METAMeta Platforms14ARKKARK Innovation ETF15AMDAdvanced Micro Devices16BCEBCE17PLTRPalantir18DISWalt Disney19VTIVanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund ETF20TDToronto-Dominion Bank

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