As risk-on sentiment returned to the stock market, US indexes significantly outperformed the ASX, drawing interest to the growth shares propelling the market higher. This meant software and hardware tech shares, electric vehicle-makers, and semiconductor stocks were in hot demand.

Even as the Federal Reserve signalled it was all but certain to begin unwinding its bond-buying program, the market was buoyed by news the central bank still plans to hold fire on lifting interest rates once done tapering. Across the month, the Nasdaq surged 7.3%, the S&P 500 leapt 6.9%, and the Dow Jones advanced 5.8%.

Let take a closer look at how US trading unfolded across the Selfwealth community last month.

US share trading activity

It was a brief appearance for BIT Mining (NYSE: BTCM) atop the list of the most-traded stocks, with the name dropping out of the top 20 altogether. However, its replacement is unlikely to come as a surprise to many, with Tesla (NASDAQ: TSLA) both the most-active stock by value and orders throughout the month of October. The tech giant posted a significant gain of 44% last month, the second best-performing stock among all S&P 500 names. Topping a valuation of US$1 trillion, the stock was spurred on by growing appetite for EV stocks - Lucid (NASDAQ: LCID) and Nio (NYSE: NIO) also made the top 20 by orders - and news the company was set to receive a purchase order from Hertz Global for 100,000 full-priced EVs. Adding to the momentum was news of record quarterly revenue and profit, with investors seemingly in a frenzy to overwhelmingly buy into the news.Lithium Americas (NYSE: LAC) moved into second place among the most-traded stocks via the Selfwealth platform, a record high and likely driven by diverging opinions on whether the stock still has more room to run after surging 30% during October. Its ASX-listed peer Piedmont Lithium (NASDAQ: PLL) also made the cut as lithium prices took off.Mega-tech shares were a popular trade once again, with Alibaba (NYSE: BABA), Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) all in the limelight. Alibaba staged a modest rebound last month, which may have contributed to 83% of the value of all shares being driven by buying activity. 

In the case of Facebook and Microsoft, reporting season proved a catalyst for trading action. Selfwealth members eagerly bought the dip after Facebook dived on concerns Apple iPhone privacy changes could disrupt its advertising business. Microsoft strong growth numbers, particularly within its Azure cloud division, attracted buying volume from the Selfwealth community.

Elsewhere, robust buying interest came in for the likes of Align Technology (NASDAQ: ALGN), buoyed by an upbeat quarterly report, Merck (NYSE: MRK), which unveiled a promising antiviral COVID treatment, and Progenity (NASDAQ: PROG), a short-squeeze favourite among Reddit investors.Top 20 stocks traded by valueCode SecurityBuy-sell Ratio1TSLATesla86.1%2LACLithium Americas48.0%3AAPLApple53.8%4BABAAlibaba83.0%5PROGProgenity49.5%6GMEGameStop53.0%7FBFacebook83.5%8AMDAdvanced Micro Devices42.5%9AMZNAmazon51.2%10TQQQProShares UltraPro QQQ54.2%11PHUNPhunware54.3%12MSFTMicrosoft75.6%13NVDANvidia52.6%14AMCAMC Entertainment47.3%15UPSTUpstart Holdings66.7%16ALGNAlign Technology85.7%17SQQQProShares UltraPro Short QQQ ETF69.1%18PLLPiedmont Lithium49.8%19CARAvis Budget Group49.9%20MRKMerck59.3%

Which US shares were the most held?

Following much of the buying activity detailed above, the likes of Tesla, Microsoft and Alibaba were able to entrench their positions within the top 20 most-held US shares, while Facebook made its debut on the list. The value of Tesla and Alibaba shares held across the community grew by 86.6% and 54.1% respectively, clearly indicating it wasn't just a case of the increasing share price driving growth in holdings, but also Selfwealth members with a long-term view. Semiconductor stocks remain a keen theme within the Selfwealth community, with Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) moving up a spot into 11th position, and Advanced Micro Devices (NASDAQ: AMD) holding onto its ranking as the 18th most-held stock by value. The duo may have been the most popular semiconductor stocks last month, but other peers like Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (NASDAQ: TSM), ON Semiconductor (NASDAQ: ON), Qualcomm (NASDAQ: QUAL) and GlobalFoundries (NASDAQ: GFS) have seen a steady uptick in interest.Portfolio regulars Palantir (NYSE: PLTR), Alphabet (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and Nio (NASDAQ: NIO) all maintained a spot inside the top 20, with the outperformance of the Nasdaq providing a positive backdrop for local investors to invest confidently in tech stocks.Finally, Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) made its second appearance among the community favourite names. With bitcoin prices on a tear last month and hitting all-time highs, as well as upbeat sentiment across the broader crypto space, the stock was given a shot in the arm amid the momentum and appeal to those eyeing exposure to cryptocurrency.US StockCompany1TSLATesla2GMEGameStop3AAPLApple4MSFTMicrosoft5AMZNAmazon6BABAAlibaba7ARKKARK Innovation ETF8AMCAMC Entertainment9PLTRPalantir10GOOGLAlphabet11NVDANvidia12BRK.BBerkshire Hathaway13NIONio14VOOVanguard 500 Index Fund ETF15FBFacebook16COINCoinbase17QQQInvesco QQQ Trust Series 118AMDAdvanced Micro Devices19ARKGARK Genomic Revolution ETF20UPSTUpstart Holdings

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