15 September 2025 | Weekly Snapshot
Saward Dawson > Wealth Advisory Insights > Weekly Snapshot > 15 September 2025
Did you know?
Bitcoin has created over a dozen billionaires. The largest of whom has an unknown identify, going only by the name ‘Satoshi”. Satoshi was an early developer of Bitcoin, authored the Bitcoin whitepaper and was known to hold 1.1m bitcoins in 2010, which in today’s terms is worth $126 billion.
Market Movements
The ASX market was basically flat last week. Listed property was the strongest sector (up 1.7%), led by Goodman group (up 27%). Supporting this rally was a strong result in the US from leading cloud service provider, Oracle. Energy stocks were the worst performers (down 4.5%). Lithium stocks were down strongly, including Pilbara (down 20%) after news that CATL (a large Chinese lithium producer) was re-starting production at their higher cost mines, which only 4 weeks ago had been idled in response to an oversupplied lithium market.
In the USA, shares were higher by 1.4%, led by utilities (up 2.6%) and info tech (up 2.2%). A strong outlook from Oracle sent shares higher by 22% last week and is now the 11th largest company on the S&P500. This supported a rally in everything AI. Regional strength was broad. Germany was the only major region where the market was lower (down 0.5%)
On economics, the USA saw a rise in jobless claims to 263,000, higher than the 235,000 expected. Inflation was also higher than expected, with CPI for August rising 4.8% (annualised). Taken together, we are seeing a slower job market and stick inflation.
By way of an update, the below chart compares the earnings-per-share (next 12 months) for the World equity index by sectors. A rising line means growing earnings expectations in the next 12 months and vice versa. We are seeing Info tech (pink), Communication services (green) and Financials (orange) leading the earnings environment. The energy sector (blue) has seen falling earnings expectations.
Portfolio Movements
Broadcom surge to shake up Mag 7
- Broadcom surged another 10% on Friday following their better-than-expected Q3 result. They reported a stronger foothold in the AI market with their custom AI chips.
- Combined with the Oracle results and outlook, AI stocks rallied hard across the board last week
- Broadcom’s market cap is nearing $1.6 billion, well ahead of Tesla’s $1.1 billion with some suggesting it should replace Tesla in the Mag 7.
Rio Tinto: shifting goalposts with Simandou iron ore production approaching
- Rio Tinto’s giant iron ore project in Guinea, ‘Simandou’, is set to begin production in the next few months. It will produce over 60Mt per annum in the initial years.
- The Guinean government is, reportedly, pushing back on mining companies simply exporting iron ore overseas and would rather see domestic value add. The market is unsure as to what extent it could impact operations.
- Rio and its partners are to pay a 15% corporate tax rate for the first 17 years of operation, well below the 35% rate that normally applies in the African country.
Alibaba shares higher after announcing it will use it’s own chips to train AI models
- Chinese tech and ecommerce giant Alibaba surged last week on reports they have begun using their own chips to train AI models. This could represent a major cost savings if they can partly replace Nvidia.
- Alibaba has been using its own chips for smaller AI models since early this year. Alibaba still needs Nvidia chips to develop their most cutting-edge models. But Alibaba’s latest AI chip is now good enough to compete with Nvidia’s H20, according to reports.
The Week Ahead
- Monday 15 September: USA Empire Manufacturing (Sep) 5.0 (prior 11.9), Retail Sales Advance MoM (Aug) 0.3% (prior 0.5%). China Retail Sales YoY (Aug) 3.8% (prior 3.7%).
- Wednesday 17 September: USA Housing Starts (Aug) 1,365k (prior 1,428k), Building Permits (Aug) 1,370k (prior 1,362k). UK CPI MoM (Aug) 0.3% (prior 0.1%), CPI YoY (Aug) 3.8% (prior 3.8%), CPI Core YoY (Aug) 3.7% (prior 3.8%).
- Thursday 18 September: USA FOMC Rate Decision (Upper Bound) 4.25% (prior 4.5%) and Lower Bound 4.00% (prior 4.25%), Initial Jobless Claims (Sep 13) 240k (prior 263k). Australia Employment Change (Aug) 21.0k (prior 24.5k), Unemployment Rate (Aug) 4.2% (prior 4.2%). UK Bank of England Bank Rate (Sep) 4.0% (prior 4.0%).
- Friday 19 September: USA Leading Index (Aug) -0.2% (prior -0.1%).
Saward Dawson Wealth Advisors Pty Ltd, a Corporate Authorised Representative of Akambo Pty Ltd t/a Accountants Private Advice
The information presented in this publication is general information only, and is not intended to be financial product advice. It has not been prepared taking into account your investment objectives, financial situation or needs, and should not be used as the basis for making an investment decision. Before making any investment decision you need to consider (with your financial adviser) your particular investment needs, objectives and financial circumstances.
Some numerical figures in this publication have been subject to rounding adjustments. Akambo Pty Ltd (including any of its directors, officers or employees) will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of any reliance on this information. The market commentary reflect Akambo Pty Ltd’s views and beliefs at the time of preparation, which are subject to change without notice.
