Key takeaways: 

• Selfwealth trading interest in various shares was guided by the end of the financial year.

• The ‘Big Four’ recorded monetary outflows in relation to monthly trades, albeit Commonwealth Bank’s presence across the platform continued to grow.

• Growth-oriented ETFs were among the major movers last month as global equities reset record highs.

• Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. It is important to do your own research before investing.   

The local share market entered record territory last month, with cooling inflation lifting expectations for further Reserve Bank of Australia rate cuts, as well as a positive lead from overseas markets where ‘risk on’ sentiment prevailed.  

Growth-oriented sectors continued to shine, with the Information Technology sector on the move. Financials, Energy, and Materials shares all benefitted, and over the course of the month, the S&P ASX 200 gained approximately 1.3%. At the other end of the scale, the Consumer Staples and Industrials sectors underperformed.

How did Selfwealth investors react to developments across the market? Did record highs influence the community’s investment decisions? Let’s uncover the key trading trends from June.

ASX share trading activity

Last month’s most actively traded stock, BHP (ASX: BHP), cemented its status as a stalwart in the Selfwealth community. During financial year 2025, the stock ranked within the top two by trade volumes in 11 out of 12 months, with the one absence seeing it rank third.

While last month’s trade volumes in BHP were flat over the month, buying sentiment improved. The iron ore giant’s buy-to-sell ratio increased 6.5 percentage points, with more than two out of every three trades being ‘buys’. Although iron ore prices remained subdued during the month, a falling greenback, which typically helps mineral exporters, offered a tailwind that may have appealed to investors.

Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) posted a rebound in trading interest, back at its highest ranking in exactly one year. Over the month, trade volumes in PLS surged 27.7%.

While losing around half its market cap over the last year, Pilbara Minerals did round out the financial year with a monthly gain of 8.1%, albeit that may have prompted a few holders to crystalise some tax losses, as the stock’s buy-to-sell ratio dropped six percentage points in June to 54.9%. A key catalyst for the stock last month was a significant increase in mineral resources at its Pilgangoora operations.

In fourth spot, DroneShield (ASX: DRO) found some momentum within the community, jumping from 15th a month prior. Trade volumes in DRO leapt 123%, accompanying a surge of more than 70% in the company’s share price. Although DRO’s share price ascent was fairly steady through the month, the biggest move came when the counter drone business rounded out the month with the largest order in its history, in turn, spurring on trading activity. However, amid the major increase, some investors opted to reduce their exposure to DRO, as evidenced by the buy-to-sell ratio of 49.8%.

Another mover on the list of the most actively traded ASX shares was Qantas (ASX: QAN). The stock improved its ranking from 18th in May, to 12th in June, largely supported by a 21% increase in trade volumes. Shares in Qantas traded sideways last month, but it did correspond with an all-time high for the airline. Even in light of its record high, community sentiment remained firm, up 3.5 percentage points last month.

At the start of June, international education provider IDP Education (ASX: IEL) was rocked by a near 50% decline in its share price. That was in response to a market update that saw the company downgrade its outlook, forecasting a 28-30% drop in student placement volumes, as well as an 18-20% decline in language testing volumes for FY25.

Despite an expected halving in EBIT, Selfwealth investors treated the news from IEL as a buying opportunity. The normally quiet stock, which has never featured among the most popular trades, ranked 17th last month, with more than seven out of every ten trades being ‘buys’.

Another first-timer was Dateline Resources (ASX: DTR), with the small-cap gold and rare earths explorer finishing June as the 19th most traded ASX stock by volume.  

The stock’s popularity may have had a lot to do with its performance from the preceding month, when it gained 978% after its Colosseum Project in the US was specifically mentioned by President Trump. Nevertheless, although DTR’s share price went backwards in June, it didn’t stop investors stepping in amid the pullback. 

As far as ETFs, one trend taking hold across the Selfwealth community last month was the rise of growth-oriented funds. In particular, two names encapsulated this theme, with the Vanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF (ASX: VDHG) and the Betashares Diversified All Growth ETF (ASX: DHHF) both seeing higher volumes over the month. The most likely explanation for this increase centres on the fact that both the local and US share markets were at record highs, suggesting broad enthusiasm for growth assets.Past performance is not an indicator of future performance. Please undertake your own research.  

By money flow, the major banks were central to an outflow of funds. ANZ (ASX: ANZ) and Westpac (ASX: WBC) were among the worst on this front, with buy-to-sell ratios of 36.9% and 29.7% respectively. With that said, the total value of shares traded in the banks dropped markedly over the month, which gives rise to the possibility that some investors may have taken profits before the end of the financial year. 

The lead-up to the end of FY25 also saw money flow turn negative for Woodside Energy (ASX: WDS). Despite a positive month for the energy major’s share price, up 6.2%, the majority of all money flow was centred on selling activity. Having posted a negative return for the financial year, again, some investors may have crystallised said losses for tax purposes, but it is just as likely last month’s share price spike, which at one stage topped 20% on the outbreak of war between Israel and Iran, prompted some selling. 

Elsewhere, three of the market’s most well-known growth stocks made up the numbers, with Xero (ASX: XRO), Aristocrat Leisure (ASX: ALL), and WiseTech Global (ASX: WTC) ranking eighth, 19th, and 20th respectively. In each instance, the buy-to-sell ratios for money flow were under 50%. 

What are the most popular ASX shares and ETFs? 

Having already reset its all-time high multiple times this year, Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) continued that trend in June. It also meant the bank extended its lead over the next most held stock on the platform. Overall, community holdings in CBA rose 4.7% last month, broadly in line with the stock’s underlying performance.  

As inflation data showed consumer prices growing at a cooler than expected rate, economists quickly moved to nail down their forecasts for interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of Australia, which should reduce funding costs for banks like CBA. 

While the rest of the Big Four saw the total value of their holdings across the platform decline, Macquarie Group (ASX: MQG) proved to be an exception and joined CBA in bucking that trend. In fact, MGQ arguably fared even better among the community, with its total holdings up 5.2% in value. 

Meanwhile, Sigma Healthcare (ASX: SIG) continued its slide down the list post tie-up with Chemist Warehouse. Last month, community holdings in SIG fell 13.9%, resulting in the stock falling two spots to ninth. Although the share price went backwards in June to the tune of 4.2%, the outsized decline, as well as trading data, tell us that investors were selling shares in the company as sentiment towards the pharmacy operator and wholesaler soured. 

Although Woodside Energy maintained a flat rating over the month, community holdings in WDS jumped by 6.9%. That came despite a monetary outflow related to trading activity. Accordingly, the increase was attributable to the stock’s share price gain, as well as the addition of holdings tied to new investors on the platform. Last month saw oil prices briefly spike to a five-month high, generating above-average interest in the segment. 

With the largest increase in value of community holdings among any top 20 name at 8.4%, Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) climbed one spot to land in 14th among the most held ASX names on the platform.  

The iron ore miner fared more favourably than its biggest rival in BHP, where total holding fell 0.2% in value over the month, and nearly doubled the growth rate of Fortescue (ASX: FMG), which was 4.6%. Despite positive growth, RIO’s share price went backwards nearly 5% in June, which suggests investors treated the dip as a buying opportunity. 

After holding sizes surged over recent months, in line with the gold rally and feverish buying, some of that momentum turned negative in June as holdings in Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST) decreased by a double-digit percentage.  

Although NST still clung onto 18th spot, community holdings declined 11.2%, following the underlying share price. Somewhat intriguingly, the price of gold actually rose throughout June, albeit it did drop sharply from the record set around the middle of the month, leading to a swift shift in market sentiment for gold miners. 

With fresh inflation data offering an encouraging outlook for an easing in monetary policy over the coming months, it was perhaps no surprise to see the income orientated AAA ETF slip out of the top 10, instead replaced by the Vanguard All-World Ex-US Shares Index ETF (ASX: VEU). That came at a time when global indices set new all-time highs.  

The US-oriented iShares S&P 500 ETF (ASX: IVV) and Betashares Nasdaq 100 ETF (ASX: NDQ) were further testament of this strength, with total holdings growing by 4.4% and 4.5% in value respectively. 

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