PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN, JAPANESE & SOUTH KOREAN STOCK NEWS: Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) and its union will resume wage mediation talks at 10:00 local time on Wednesday

AUSTRALIA

Catapult Sports (CAT AT) - Co. FY (USD) net loss 19.5mln (prev. loss 8.75mln Y/Y), rev. 140.7mln (prev. 116.5mln Y/Y), annualised contract value 133.85mln (prev. 101.2mln), and did not declare a dividend. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Infratil (IFT AT) - Co. is selling down NZD 495mln of its stake in Contact Energy, with Macquarie Capital steering the transaction. (AFT Street Talk)

James Hardie Industries (JHX AT) - Co. Q4 (USD) net 29mln, adjusted EBITDA 381mln, rev. rose 45% Y/Y to 1.40bln, and FY net 104mln, adjusted EBITDA 1.27bln, rev. rose 25% Y/Y to 4.84bln, while management expects its fibre cement business to return to growth in FY27 despite organic net sales declining in FY26. (Dow Jones Newsplus; Newswires)

Smartgroup (SIQ AT) - Co. said 1Q average monthly revenue rose 8% Y/Y, average monthly total novated leasing settlements rose 7% Y/Y, average monthly novated leasing orders rose 22% Y/Y, targeted a mid-40s EBITDA margin during 2027, expects AUD 11mln-13mln in technology and digital capex in 2026, and will buy back shares worth up to AUD 20mln. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Stanmore Resources (SMR AT) - Co. continues to monitor diesel supply and prices, received reassurances of continued fuel delivery in the immediate future, is cautiously optimistic on the outlook and said metallurgical coal prices continue to improve. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

JAPAN

Daiwa Securities Group (8601 JT) - Co. will take a stake in Airborne Capital to grow aircraft lease investments and offer more alternative assets for family offices and institutions. (Nikkei)

Fujikura (5803 JT) - Co. will raise US output of fibre optic cable for data centres and invest up to USD 1.6bln in American production to meet strong demand. (Nikkei)

NEC (6701 JT) - Co. and NTT Docomo will establish a high-speed telecommunications network in Singapore through a joint venture using Open RAN protocol, with support from Japan’s government. (Nikkei)

Panasonic Holdings (6752 JT) - Co. acquired a UK startup to revitalise its flagging projector business after the sale of the subsidiary to Orix fell through. (Nikkei)

TDK (6762 JT) - Co. will acquire Malaysian battery startup Linergy Power for USD 240mln to boost capacity for storage cells used to power artificial intelligence. (Nikkei)

Other News

Japan’s state-backed Development Bank of Japan is eyeing a longer investment horizon to support reshoring, aiming to provide USD 19bln in risk capital over five years. (Nikkei)

Japan will urge startups to explore buyouts instead of IPOs under new guidelines seeking to combat bias that favours stock listings. (Nikkei)

SOUTH KOREA

Hyundai Motor Group (005380 KS) - Co. is to deploy 25,000 Atlas robots at Korean car plants. (ChosunBiz)

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Co. and its union will resume wage mediation talks at 10:00 local time on Wednesday. (Yonhap)

Yuhan Corp (000100 KS) - Co. signs KRW 210.2bln contract with Gilead Sciences (GILD). (Newswires)

Other News

South Korean President Lee and Japanese PM Takaichi agreed to boost cooperation in supply chains and procurement of crude oil and LNG. (Yonhap)

Angola will prioritise crude oil supply to South Korea amid the Middle East crisis. (Yonhap)