Australasian Equities

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Australasian Equities

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Core

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On Sale The tape has been poor for the iShares China Large-Cap ETF (ASX: IZZ) year-to-date, falling around 15% YTD, though there has been an almost +8% rebound over the past week. Hong Kong equities rebounded hard on Wednesday, and IZZ’s largest holdings were among those leading the move. The Hang Seng Tech index jumped 4.3%, its best session in over a month, as a rally in chip and AI names pulled global money out of pricier markets (like the

Macquarie Group

Core

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Building a Fee Machine Macquarie Group (ASX: MQG) has closed out three deals in quick succession, and the business model of earning steady management fees is ticking over well. The Supreme Court approval has locked in an A$11.7 billion buyout of ports and logistics company Qube, giving Macquarie decades of fee income from a major transport network. Their US lending arm has also grown quickly, raising over US$1.6 billion in less than two years and attracting new investors. Separately, Macquarie sold off a portfolio of retirement home loans, freeing

Northern Star

Speculative

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New Boss Waiting in the Wings Northern Star Resources (ASX: NST) hit gold production targets for the year (though only after cutting expectations already). A major upgrade to NST’s KCGM mill in Western Australia is scheduled to come online later this year, roughly doubling processing capacity, though final running costs remain unclear. A new CEO has been named, but does not start until October, leaving a gap in leadership. In our last tech update on the 3rd of June, we noted that “Northern Star

Fortescue

Speculative

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Caught Between a Rock and a Hard Place Fortescue (ASX: FMG) is facing pressure on two fronts, even though the core business remains robustly profitable. China’s state-run iron ore buyer has told steel mills to stop taking certain Fortescue shipments from mid-July. This is a move designed to place pressure on FMG to lower iron ore pricing. Easing iron ore prices to around US$98 a tonne has also dampened sentiment despite FMG having very healthy profit margins at these prices. A heavy reliance

Suncorp

Core

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Weathering the Storm With a Five-Year Safety Net Suncorp (ASX: SUN) has locked in a new five-year insurance arrangement, worth up to $2.4 billion, designed to protect the company from the rising cost of storms, floods and bushfires. This should make profits more predictable, even though weather-related costs this year came in $250 million above budget. Growth in premiums has slowed slightly due to a weaker economy, but underlying profit margins are still tracking near the top of Suncorp’s target range.

Xero

Core

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Raising Prices Into the Market Panic Following the FY26 results, Xero has taken steps that sit awkwardly with the idea that it is paralysed by AI disruption risk. Xero has embedded itself inside Microsoft 365 Copilot and is raising subscription prices across its main UK plans. The market is still pricing the first-order fear – that general AI assistants will disintermediate its offerings – while the company seeks to convert those same assistants into distribution. On 1 July 2026, Xero announced an

BHP

Core

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Digs Deeper Into Copper’s Future BHP (ASX: BHP) is doubling down on copper, a metal in high demand for electric vehicles and power grids, by pursuing growth on several fronts at once. It has applied to reopen a previously closed mine in Chile, this time using recycled wastewater instead of groundwater to address community concerns. It has also tested new technology that pulls valuable metal out of waste material, and struck a deal to hand over an old Arizona site to

Rio Tinto

Core

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Betting Big on Batteries While Iron Ore Foots the Bill Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO) is expanding rapidly into forward-facing base metals tied to AI, underpinned by copper, but also lithium, aiming to triple lithium output to 200,000 tonnes by 2028. This is a division management expects to grow faster than any other mining operations, given the importance to battery manufacturing. The company has also renegotiated terms on the huge Mongolian copper mine (Oyu Tolgoi), cutting fees and interest costs to reflect lower risk now that the operation

About these archived stock reports

These are archived Fat Prophets equity research stock reports and share analysis. They do not constitute current investment advice, financial product advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any financial product. They are provided for historical reference only, and reflect the market conditions, company information, forecasts and opinions available at its original publication date. The information may no longer be current or applicable. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.

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