US equities dominate Australian investors’ top trades
US stocks now dominate the top trades for Australian investors, making up half of the 20 most-traded securities in the last 12 months. This represents a significant shift from six months prior, when just eight US companies appeared on the list. Sharesight data shows NVIDIA has become the most-traded stock, surpassing CSL, while SpaceX has already climbed to sixth place in just four months since its June listing.
Market Share Shifts Toward the US
Analysis of trading activity across major Australian broking platforms reveals US equities captured 47 per cent of all trades in the top 25 most-traded ASX and US stocks. This figure rose from 40 per cent in the previous six-month period. During the same timeframe, trading in leading ASX stocks fell 25 per cent. NVIDIA, Alphabet, SpaceX, Microsoft, Tesla, and Micron all feature in the top 10 list of most-traded names.
While chipmakers and space stocks drove the strongest growth in activity, trades in Micron increased by 63 per cent, Intel by 46 per cent, Broadcom by 33 per cent, and Rocket Lab by 21 per cent. New entrants to the 25 most-traded US stocks list include Marvell, Sandisk, and IonQ. This surge in trading interest for international technology names coincides with a lack of comparable opportunities on the local market.
The shift reflects broader trends in investor behaviour. Sharesight CEO Douglas Morris noted that Australian investors are paying close attention to offshore markets. “Home bias is fading because Australian investors can see what is happening offshore,” Morris said. He pointed to a flat local market and four rate hikes from the Reserve Bank of Australia, noting the ASX 200 has barely moved this year. In contrast, the S&P 500 has set record after record and the Nasdaq 100 is up more than 20 per cent.
Profit-Taking in Resources
Trading volume in leading Australian resources stocks dropped significantly. Woodside saw trades fall 44 per cent, PLS Group by 42 per cent, and BHP by 23 per cent. DroneShield, a defence stock, dropped 56 per cent. These declines pushed several heavyweights out of the top 25 most-traded ASX stocks. Lynas, Santos, Northern Star, and Rio Tinto were replaced by ResMed, NextDC, Cochlear, and 4DMedical.
Buying and selling in many of these Australian stocks is evenly balanced. Woodside, BHP, PLS Group, and DroneShield sit in a buy range between 53 per cent and 59 per cent. This stands in contrast to the largest US tech names, including NVIDIA, Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon, which sit between 68 per cent and 73 per cent buys. The data suggests profit-taking in Australian resource and defence stocks, following a strong run for materials on the ASX in the 2026 financial year.
Income stocks, however, bucked the trend. Buy trades rose in NAB (16 per cent), Telstra (12 per cent), Fortescue (11 per cent), and Westpac (7 per cent), making them the only leading ASX stocks to record an increase. This indicates a specific strategy among investors who are looking to the US for capital growth while relying on the local market for dividend income.
Structuring International Exposure
The trend extends to family offices, according to George Wilson, CEO of investment reporting and analysis firm ONDA. He said clients are increasingly asking for reporting on international holdings, with North America featuring prominently. Wilson noted that going offshore is rarely a single decision. “It touches currency, tax and which entity should hold the assets,” Wilson said. He added that families are spending as much time on the structure of their holdings as on the decision to invest offshore.
