PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN & JAPANESE STOCK NEWS: Coles Group (COL AT) ended talks with TPG to acquire Greencross Pet Wellness

AUSTRALIA

BHP Group (BHP AT) - Labor-affiliated unions have begun major strike action at Port Hedland and say they are prepared to outlast the Co. in the dispute. (The Australian)

Coles Group (COL AT) - Co. ended talks with TPG to acquire Greencross Pet Wellness following due diligence on the potential transaction. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Mayne Pharma (MYX AT) - Co. appointed Griffin D. Buchanan as CFO, effective August 1. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Perseus Mining (PRU AT) - Co. said drilling at depth and along strike at the Yaoure Gold Mine strengthens confidence in the potential to extend mine life. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Qantas Airways (QAN AT) - Co. will not face an investigation by the Office of the Australian Information Commissioner after 5.67mln customer records were stolen and published on the dark web. (The Australian)

Regis Resources (RRL AT) - Co. expects FY27 gold production of 360z-400koz, all-in sustaining costs of AUD 2,990-3,390/oz, growth capital of AUD 250-270mln, exploration spend of AUD 80-90mln, McPhillamys spend of AUD 30-35mln, Duketon production of 240-270koz and Tropicana attributable production of 120-130koz. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Zip Co. (ZIP AT) - Co. will wind down its New Zealand operations following a strategic review to focus on its Australian and US businesses, with the financial impact expected to be immaterial. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Broker Ratings/Price Target

Australian Finance Group (AFG AT) - Price target cut 25% to AUD 2.26/shr at Macquarie.

Insurance Australia Group (IAG AT) - Cut to Underperform from Equalweight, price target raised by 10% to AUD 5.00/shr at Morgan Stanley; raised to Buy from Hold at JPMorgan.

Netwealth Group (NWL AT) - Price target cut 0.5% to AUD 32.25/shr at Macquarie.

Woodside Energy (WDS AT) - Upgraded to Outperform from Neutral, price target raised 9% to AUD 32.80/shr at Macquarie.

JAPAN

Fast Retailing (9983 JT) - Co.'s GU brand unveiled its 2026 autumn/winter collection after appointing a creative director with experience at Prada. (Nikkei)

Honda Motor (7267 JT) - Co., alongside SoftBank and Sony, joined a 44-company consortium to develop a sovereign Japanese AI foundation model using Nvidia chips. (Nikkei)

Inpex (1605 JT) - Co. broke ground on its USD 21bln Abadi LNG project in Indonesia, set to become the country's second-largest LNG facility. Honda also reportedly pulls back from the US EV market. (Newswires/Nikkei)

Isuzu Motors (7202 JT) - Co. is testing swappable batteries in electric garbage trucks in Yokohama to reduce downtime for commercial EVs. (Nikkei)

Seven & i Holdings (3382 JT) - Co. will reportedly invest several hundred billion yen in Żabka Group (ZAB PW). (Nikkei)

Toyota Tsusho (8015 JT) - Co. has begun offering Japanese auto parts suppliers direct shipping to Canada and Mexico, bypassing the U.S. to help avoid tariff costs. (Nikkei)

Other News

Japan plans to raise the shareholder ownership threshold required to call special shareholder meetings to 5% of voting rights, aiming to curb excessive requests from activist investors. (Nikkei)

SOUTH KOREA (CLOSED)

Hyundai Motor (005380 KS) - Co.’s union said workers will extend partial strikes next week as they seek higher wages, raising concerns over production disruptions. (Yonhap)

Other News

- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held talks with the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference Chairman Wang Huning in Pyongyang. (Newswires)