Shared Lunch

SHARESIES · MARKET UPDATE · Week of 28 September 2026
Jacki Neumann, Head of Capital Markets
↑ WHAT'S UP — The S&P 500 rose 1.2% for the week and the Nasdaq gained 2.1%, hitting a record high. Meta jumped almost 13% after its AI agent, Muse, topped US App Store downloads. Microsoft added 4.5% on reports of Copilot discounts for business customers.
↓ WHAT’S DOWN — The ASX 200 fell 0.8%, its fourth straight weekly loss, and closed at its lowest since mid-June. It’s down around 4.5% for September, with utilities the weakest sector last week at around −5.2%. Oracle fell over 7% after invoking force majeure on its New Mexico data centre, citing power and permit delays.
! BIGGEST SURPRISES — The US 10-year Treasury yield topped 5.2% on Thursday, driven by strong business data, weak Treasury auctions, and hawkish Fed comments. Markets now see a 66% chance of an October Fed hike. In Australia, unemployment rose to 4.6%, the highest since late 2021, though employment grew more than expected.
◎ WHAT TO WATCH — The RBA’s latest decision comes on Tuesday afternoon, with a hike to 4.60% around 90% priced in. August household spending is also out Tuesday. Wednesday brings Australian inflation, building approvals and private sector credit, plus China's manufacturing PMI and US core PCE. US non-farm payrolls land Friday.
◈ BIGGER PICTURE — The Fed, RBA, and RBNZ all have hikes on the table. RBNZ Governor Anna Breman warned inflation will run higher if oil prices persist, and markets price a 70% chance of an October hike. Brent briefly fell below $100 a barrel on US-Iran hopes, then swung with news on the Strait of Hormuz. The US and China extended their trade truce to January, due to meet again at APEC in November.
Disclaimer:
Sharesies Market Movements is brought to you by Sharesies Australia Limited (ABN 94 648 811 830; AFSL 529893) in Australia and Sharesies Limited (NZ) in New Zealand.
This video is general market commentary and educational in nature. It is not financial advice and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Information is current at the time of recording and may be subject to change. We do not provide recommendations and nothing in this video should be taken as a recommendation to buy or sell any financial product.
Investing involves risk. You might lose the money you start with. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
If you require personal financial advice, you should consider speaking with a qualified financial adviser. Our disclosure documents and terms and conditions, including a Target Market Determination and IDPS Guide for Sharesies Australian customers, are available on our relevant Australian or NZ website.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Lodestone Energy is raising between $75 and $100 million through an IPO. In this conversation, Managing Director Gary Holden explains Lodestone’s business, their ambitions, and their reasons for listing to GM of Sharesies Business, Susannah Batley.
Lodestone builds and operates solar farms of 25 to 35 megawatts and sells the electricity directly to customers, placing it alongside New Zealand's four established gentailers. Holden describes the company’s standard site specifications and why they chose that scale.
We cover how revenue is contracted, including the arrangement with early customer The Warehouse Group, and the plan to move from six farms to 18. We also put the risk factors to him: customer concentration, grid connection and consenting, construction delays, and what happens if the minimum raise isn't reached.

https://www.sharesies.nz/lodestone-energy-ipo
Disclaimer

Lodestone Energy Limited is the issuer of the shares to be issued under the offer to which this advertisement relates. A product disclosure statement for the offer, which sets out the terms and conditions of the offer, is available, and can be obtained by visiting https://ipo.lodestone.co.nz/ . Prospective investors should consider the product disclosure statement before deciding whether to acquire Shares and will need to apply in accordance with the instructions in the product disclosure statement. Nothing in this Sharesies podcast constitutes an invitation to subscribe for, or an offer of shares or financial products to any person, in any country in which it would be unlawful to do so.
This episode is brought to you by Sharesies Limited (NZ) in New Zealand. It is not financial advice. Information provided is general only and current at the time it’s provided, and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation and needs. We do not provide recommendations and you should always read the disclosure documents available from the product issuer before making a financial decision. Our disclosure documents and terms and conditions can be found on our NZ website.
Investing involves risk. You might lose the money you start with. If you require financial advice, you should consider speaking with a licensed financial advisor. Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.
Appearance on Shared Lunch is not an endorsement by Sharesies of the views of the presenters, guests, or the entities they represent. Their views are their own.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

With markets expecting the RBA to lift Australia’s cash rate, Victoria Devine breaks down what another rise could mean for households, savers and investors.
Victoria joins Sharesies co-founder Brooke Roberts to explain the potential impact on mortgage repayments, including what a 0.25 percentage point rise could mean for someone with a $600,000 mortgage.
Plus, why she says mortgage holders shouldn’t treat their home loan as “set and forget”, particularly when household budgets are already under pressure.
For more places to follow Shared Lunch—check out http://linktr.ee/sharedlunch
Shared Lunch is brought to you by Sharesies Australia Limited (ABN 94 648 811 830; AFSL 529893) in Australia and Sharesies Limited (NZ) in New Zealand. It is not financial advice. Information provided is general only and current at the time it’s provided, and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation and needs. We do not provide recommendations and you should always read the disclosure documents available from the product issuer before making a financial decision. Our disclosure documents and terms and conditions—including a Target Market Determination and IDPS Guide for Sharesies Australian customers—can be found on our relevant Australian or NZ website.
Investing involves risk. You might lose the money you start with. If you require financial advice, you should consider speaking with a qualified financial advisor. Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.
Appearance on Shared Lunch is not an endorsement by Sharesies of the views of the presenters, guests, or the entities they represent. Their views are their own.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the age of DIY investing and open information, where does legitimate, licensed financial advice come in? Erin Avery, General Manager of WealthTech at Sharesies, and Rick Parry, financial adviser and director at My Net Worth, explain the role of human advice in our automated future.
Has the role of an adviser changed with wider access information and tools? Why is New Zealand’s regulator actually encouraging advisors to engage with AI? How do you decide whose advice is worth listening to, especially when the market gets volatile?
For more places to follow Shared Lunch—check out http://linktr.ee/sharedlunch
Shared Lunch is brought to you by Sharesies Australia Limited (ABN 94 648 811 830; AFSL 529893) in Australia and Sharesies Limited (NZ) in New Zealand. It is not financial advice. Information provided is general only and current at the time it’s provided, and does not take into account your objectives, financial situation and needs. We do not provide recommendations and you should always read the disclosure documents available from the product issuer before making a financial decision. Our disclosure documents and terms and conditions—including a Target Market Determination and IDPS Guide for Sharesies Australian customers—can be found on our relevant Australian or NZ website.
Investing involves risk. You might lose the money you start with. If you require financial advice, you should consider speaking with a qualified financial advisor. Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.
Appearance on Shared Lunch is not an endorsement by Sharesies of the views of the presenters, guests, or the entities they represent. Their views are their own.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

SHARESIES · MARKET UPDATE · Week of 21 September 2026
Jacki Neumann, Head of Capital Markets
↑ WHAT'S UP — New Zealand was the standout, with the NZX 50 up 1.2% after Q2 GDP beat expectations at 0.2% for the quarter, lifting annual growth to a two-year high of 2.6%. The Nasdaq also edged up 0.7%, even as the broader US market drifted.
↓ WHAT'S DOWN — The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% and the ASX 200 dipped 0.1%, with hawkish central banks and elevated oil keeping a lid on equities. Tech sentiment took a knock from an AI safety essay by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, which called for a slowdown in model scaling.
! BIGGEST SURPRISES — The Fed's 25 basis point hike came with a hawkish message, as Chair Warsh said he'd be "hard pressed to call current policy restrictive" and 16 of 18 officials pencilled in at least one more hike this year, pushing the 10-year Treasury yield above 5% to its highest since 2007. RBA Governor Bullock warned that August's flagged inflation risks are now arriving, lifting the odds of a September hike to around 85%.
◎ WHAT TO WATCH — Governor Bullock and Assistant Governor Hunter both make public appearances on Tuesday, before Thursday's August employment figures feed directly into the RBA's rate decision next Tuesday. Overseas, Chinese President Xi Jinping's state visit to Washington begins Thursday, with AI high on the agenda.
◈ BIGGER PICTURE — Globally, things are still skewing hawkish, with the Fed, Bank of England and Bank of Japan all signalling or delivering tighter policy. Because US Treasuries anchor asset prices worldwide, a 10-year yield above 5% squeezes equity valuations everywhere by discounting future earnings more heavily. With oil still above US$100 and the RBA now odds-on to hike again, the tension between persistent inflation and stretched borrowers is only building.
Disclaimer:
Sharesies Market Movements is brought to you by Sharesies Australia Limited (ABN 94 648 811 830; AFSL 529893) in Australia and Sharesies Limited (NZ) in New Zealand.
This video is general market commentary and educational in nature. It is not financial advice and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Information is current at the time of recording and may be subject to change. We do not provide recommendations and nothing in this video should be taken as a recommendation to buy or sell any financial product.
Investing involves risk. You might lose the money you start with. Past performance is not indicative of future performance.
If you require personal financial advice, you should consider speaking with a qualified financial adviser. Our disclosure documents and terms and conditions, including a Target Market Determination and IDPS Guide for Sharesies Australian customers, are available on our relevant Australian or NZ website.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.