Market & Portfolio Update - September 2021

15 October 2021 by Lifetime in Market Update

Market & Portfolio Update - September 2021

Global share markets experienced some volatility during the month, falling modestly for the first time since January. This was in part due to expectations of rising global interest rates over the coming months. It is worth keeping the month’s performance in context, with global share markets returning almost 15% so far this year.

Global bonds are down modestly for the month (as bond yields rose) after the US Federal Reserve indicated they are getting closer to withdrawing stimulus. In this respect, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand is ahead of the rest of the world, having ended its quantitative easing program months ago and has since raised the Official Cash Rate in October.

The NZ share market ended the month up 0.6% - better than most other developed markets. Performance of the listed travel-related companies was particularly strong, with Kathmandu up 17%, Auckland International Airport up 8.5% and Air New Zealand up 8%.

preview image - RBNZ Cuts OCR to 2.5%: What It Means for Borrowers

RBNZ Cuts OCR to 2.5%: What It Means for Borrowers

On 8 October 2025, the Reserve Bank of New Zealand (RBNZ) cut the Official Cash Rate (OCR) by 50 basis points to 2.5%, its largest move in more than three years.

10 October 2025 by Taviri Ono in Home Loans