It was a tough month for global equities in June, and the ASX wasn't immune to the headwinds sweeping across the globe. From soaring inflation, to aggressive rate hikes that risk putting the economy into a recession, investors have been wary of the challenges at hand.

Stocks from the materials sector were among the hardest hit last month, with commodity prices pulling back on concerns about economic growth and potential oversupply in certain segments, while production issues and inflation also took their toll on various miners.

Meanwhile, real estate stocks suffered as rising interest rates are threatening to impact their borrowing costs, and financials stumbled as the outlook for the property market is becoming softer by the moment.

Selfwealth members had plenty to think about in June, and here are last month most popular stocks.

What are the most popular ASX shares and ETFs?

At the end of June, the most held stocks in the Selfwealth community came from the following sectors:

• Financials (6)

• Materials (5)

• Healthcare (2)

• Consumer Discretionary (2)

• Listed Investment Companies (2)

• Energy (1)

• Telecommunications (1)

• Consumer Staples (1)

With commodities on the outer last month, there was one less stock from the materials sector among the top 20 most held securities on the platform, while we also witnessed the departure of a healthcare stock from the list. In their place, one consumer staple business joined the fold, and the financials sector was bolstered by an additional representative as well.

The gap between the two most popular stocks in Commonwealth Bank (ASX: CBA) and CSL (ASX: CSL) has narrowed considerably. Entering June, there was an $18.5 million variance between the two stocks in terms of the value of all shares held on the Selfwealth platform, but by month end, this shrunk to just $3.5 million. 

Shares in the biotech giant were down just 1% last month, a relatively robust result given the direction of the broader market. On the other hand, shares in the nation largest bank collapsed 13.4% as a supersized rate hike from the RBA caught the market off guard, and shareholders are wondering how the bank loan book might cope as property prices decline. 

Of the leading five banks within the top 20 most held shares, ANZ (ASX: ANZ) was the only name that drew any real conviction within the community last month. Whereas the value of holdings in other banks were down around 7 to 10% each, ANZ held up much better, with community holdings down just 2.5%. This suggests there was some buying support for ANZ, and the fact that ANZ is trading on the largest dividend yield among its peers may support that theory. It was the highest ranking for ANZ within the community since September last year. Woodside Energy (ASX: WDS) was a major mover in June, with the stock rising from 17th position to 11th spot among the most popular ASX stocks on the Selfwealth platform. The company was among only a small selection of ASX 200 stocks that delivered a positive return last month, up 7%, and in the process, appealing to investors who are bullish on the outlook for oil prices.

There was also a reshuffle of sorts in terms of the hot' names in the lithium sector. A driving factor in this was a development that saw Goldman Sachs call time on the lithium bull market, predicting an oversupply of the commodity.

The result was indiscriminate selling across the battery metals space, with Pilbara Minerals (ASX: PLS) slipping down the list from 13th to 15th, and both Lake Resources (ASX: LKE) and Core Lithium (ASX: CXO) tumbling out of the top 20. In the case of LKE, the company was hurt by the sudden departure of, and share sale by its former CEO. By default, AVZ Minerals (ASX: AVZ) took up a position in the top 20. The stock, in suspension throughout the entire month, is a popular name among Selfwealth members, who will no doubt be hoping the company maintains a majority ownership stake in the Manono Lithium Project. ASX StockCompany1CBACommonwealth Bank2CSLCSL3WBCWestpac4BHPBHP5NABNational Australia Bank6MQGMacquarie Group7ANZAustralia and New Zealand Banking Group8AFIAustralian Foundation Inv9FMGFortescue Metals Group10TLSTelstra11WDSWoodside Energy Group12NEUNeuren Pharmaceuticals13WESWesfarmers14RIORio Tinto15PLSPilbara Minerals16WOWWoolworths17ARGArgo Investments18FLTFlight Centre19SOLWashington H. Soul Pattinson and Co20AVZAVZ Minerals

With global markets struggling last month, the value of all units held in the leading 10 ETFs on the Selfwealth platform fell by 6.9% in June.

The largest decline was in the BetaShares Australia 200 ETF (ASX: A200), with a 10% drop in the value of all holdings, whereas the Vanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF (ASX: VGS) fared better, with a decrease of just 2.2%, tied to the outperformance of large-cap international stocks.ASX ETFsCompany1VASVanguard Australian Shares Index ETF2VDHGVanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF3VGSVanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF4IVVIshares S&P 500 ETF5VTSVanguard U.S. Total Market Shares Index ETF6A200BetaShares Australia 200 ETF7NDQBetashares Nasdaq 100 ETF8VEUVanguard All-World ex-U.S. Shares Index ETF9VHYVanguard Australian Shares High Yield ETF10DHHFBetaShares Diversified All Growth ETF

ASX share trading activity

Leveraged ETF bets' continue to represent one of the most favoured trading trends across the Selfwealth community, with as many as five exchange-traded funds of this nature in the top 20 most traded securities. Combined, more than $200 million worth of units swapped hands in leveraged ETFs, which by comparison, was slightly more than the Big Four banks put together.Of course, it wasn't just leveraged ETFs trending among exchange-traded funds last month, with as many as 12,000 trades across seven other funds with the highest number of trades filled throughout June. This was led by stalwart Vanguard Australian Shares Index ETF (ASX: VAS), with over 4,000 trades, and just shy of 90% of those trades being buy orders. By value, the split of buy-to-sell orders in VAS was around 61%.Across June most actively traded stocks, selling activity was most skewed in Whitehaven Coal (ASX: WHC). Like the majority of other stocks, WHC posted a negative return last month, but the stock has actually been among the best performers on the ASX year-to-date, currently up 75%. The catalyst for last month disproportionate selling activity was a decision by the Queensland state government to introduce new tiers of royalty payments targeting a cut of higher coal prices.Elsewhere, it appears shareholders have finally had enough of buy-now pay-later business Zip Co (ASX: ZIP). With the stock down more than 90% year-to-date, and June affording investors an opportunity to realise tax-loss sales, nearly two-thirds of all ZIP trades on the Selfwealth platform last month were sell orders.By way of comparison, even Lake Resources (ASX: LKE), with a share price that cratered 49% throughout the month of June, commanded a higher split of buying activity, with around 55% of the near 2,000 trades in LKE being buy orders.Top 20 stocks traded by valueCode SecurityBuy-Sell Ratio1FMGFortescue Metals Group50.1%2WBCWestpac57.6%3ANZANZ56.3%4CBACommonwealth Bank52.4%5CSLCSL46.8%6LNASETFS Ultra Long Nasdaq 100 Hedge Fund50.0%7PLSPIlbara Minerals52.9%8VASVanguard Australian Shares Index ETF60.7%9BBUSBBUS U.S Equities Strong Bear Fund52.0%10MQGMacquarie Group54.2%11BBOZBetashares Australian Equities Strong Bear Hedge Fund52.1%12BHPBHP47.5%13LKELake Resources47.0%14GEARBetashares Geared Australian Equity Fund53.9%15WHCWhitehaven Coal35.0%16SNASETFS Ultra Short Nasdaq 100 Hedge Fund44.4%17VDHGVanguard Diversified High Growth Index ETF50.5%18VGSVanguard MSCI Index International Shares ETF71.5%19RIORio Tinto 50.6%20NABNational Australia Bank 58.7%

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