PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN, JAPANESE & SOUTH KOREAN STOCK NEWS: Washington H. Soul Pattinson (SOL AT) - Co. is to sell Brickworks-held industrial JV trust assets to JV partner Goodman and Goodman Australia Industrial Partnership for AUD 1.89bln

AUSTRALIA

Challenger Ltd (CGF AT) - Co. announces agreement to merge Fidante with Channel Capital, recognising around AUD 100mln pre-tax gain on sale in FY27 and owning 45% of Channel Group while receiving up to AUD 172mln in cash. (Newswires)

DigiCo Infrastructure REIT (DGT AT) - Co. declared a 2H distribution of AUD 0.06/shr and continues to review capital management activities, including a potential FY27 return of excess capital through enhanced distributions supported by the sale of some US assets. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Emeco Holdings (EHL AT) - Co. expects FY26 operating EBITDA of AUD 290mln-295mln, operating EBIT of AUD 145mln-150mln, operating free cash flow of AUD 100mln-110mln and net leverage to improve to around 0.4x, while it expects stable earnings and strong free cash flow in FY27. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Infratil (IFT AT) - Former Woolworths boss Banducci joins the Co. (The Australian)

Mirvac Group (MGR AT) - Co. announced a distribution of AUD 0.048/stapled security for the six months ending 30 June 2026, to be paid at the end of August. (Motley Fool)

Qantas Airways (QAN AT) - Co.’s Project Sunrise is to start with non-stop Sydney to London flights, as it aims to connect Sydney with any city in the world in a single journey. (The Australian)

Washington H. Soul Pattinson (SOL AT) - Co. is to sell Brickworks-held industrial JV trust assets to JV partner Goodman and Goodman Australia Industrial Partnership for AUD 1.89bln, while retaining a 50.1% stake in the manufacturing trust JV. (Dow Jones Newswires)

Broker Ratings/Price Target

• Amplitude Energy (AEL AT) price target cut 15% to AUD 2.55/shr by Macquarie.
• Flight Centre Travel Group (FLT AT) price target cut 7.0% to AUD 14.45/shr by Macquarie, price target raised 1.7% to AUD 14.80/shr by Morgans, price target raised 3.6% to AUD 14.50/shr by Jefferies.
• Megaport (MP1 AT) price target raised 20% to AUD 22.80/shr by Jefferies.
• Sims (SGM AT) price target raised 7.8% to AUD 34.40/shr by Macquarie, price target raised 63% to AUD 31.00/shr by Jefferies.
• Sonic Healthcare (SHL AT) price target raised 0.2% to AUD 22.60/shr by Jefferies.

JAPAN

Hitachi (6501 JT) - Co. expands its work with OpenAI to accelerate AI-driven modernisation and cybersecurity. (Newswires)

KDDI (9433 JT) - Co. signs an IoT accelerator connectivity management agreement with Aeris. (Acquiremedia)

Komatsu (6301 JT) - Co. may follow rivals in raising prices in North America as it expects a profit drop amid weaker Middle East demand. (Nikkei)

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (7011 JT) - Co. is expanding into small defence drones as conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East highlight the role of low-cost drones. (Nikkei)

Nippon Steel (5401 JT) - Co. has delivered some positive results from efforts to reform US Steel one year after its acquisition, though it is not yet satisfied with the improvements. (Nikkei)

Nissan Motor (7201 JT) - Co. is launching a new compact SUV in Japan as it seeks to revive its presence in the domestic market. (Nikkei)

Renesas Electronics (6723 JT) - Co. acquires Pictorus to simplify and accelerate embedded application software development. (Newswires)

Toyota Motor (7203 JT) - Co.’s shareholders re-elected Akio Toyoda as chairman. (Newswires)

Other News

Japan's Takaichi is to visit India with executives from Suzuki, Itochu and others, with 50 business leaders planning a trip to Assam state. (Nikkei)

A European country has expressed interest in buying Japanese defence equipment, according to Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi. (Nikkei)

SOUTH KOREA

KEPCO (015760 KS) - Co.’s Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power picked candidate sites to host two new nuclear reactors to be built by 2038. (Yonhap)

Kia (000270 KS) - Co. exits its bus business after 60 years as union resistance escalates in Korea. (ChosunBiz)