PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN, JAPANESE & SOUTH KOREAN STOCKS NEWS: Earnings from Hyundai Motor, JB Financial & Canon

Australia

BHP Group (BHP AT) - Co. is reviewing the viability and performance of its Queensland coal assets amid rising union pressures in its iron ore division. (The Australian)

Fortescue Ltd (FMG AT) - Co. approved a USD 680mln Pilbara green energy expansion project, expects completion by 2028 with a pathway to multi-gigawatt expansion beyond 2030, while Q3 iron ore shipments rose 5% Y/Y to 48.4mln tons, hematite C1 unit cost rose 4% Y/Y to USD 18.29/wet ton and reiterated FY26 shipment, cost and capex guidance. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

IGO Ltd (IGO AT) - Co. Q3 Greenbushes spodumene production was 351k tons, sales were 349k tons, with one shipment slipping to April due to port congestion and realised spodumene price at USD 1,668/ton. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

PLS Group (PLS AT) - Co. Q3 production rose 12% Q/Q to 232.4k tons, sales fell 16% Q/Q to 195.7k tons, rev. rose 52% Q/Q to AUD 567k and reaffirmed FY26 guidance for all metrics. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Suncorp Group (SUN AT) - Co. agreed a five-year aggregate reinsurance deal from June 30 providing AUD 800mln of annual protection, AUD 2.4bln total protection over five years and an AUD 1.85bln FY27 attachment point for aggregate cover. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Japan

Canon (7751 JT) - Co. Q1 (JPY) net fell 33% Y/Y to 48.3bln, rev. rose 3.3% Y/Y to 1.09tln. cuts its FY profitability guidance and sees further cost increases to be addressed through pricing. (Newswires)

Honda Motor (7267 JT) - Honda Korea announced it will withdraw from South Korea’s automobile market. (Yonhap)

Marubeni Corp (8002 JT) - Co. is launching a service to reduce data centre power consumption for generative AI by up to 80% in partnership with Multiverse Computing. (Nikkei Asia)

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306 JT), Mizuho Financial Group (8411 JT), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. (8316 JT) -  MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Mizuho Bank will provide syndicated loans to special-purpose vehicles for the first three projects under Japan’s USD 550bln investment pledge. (Nikkei Asia)

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316 JT) - Co. plans to begin comprehensive asset management services for universities and, via Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., will provide syndicated loans to special-purpose vehicles for the first three projects under Japan’s USD 550bln investment pledge. (Nikkei Asia)

SoftBank (9984 JT) – Co.’s mobile unit is planning to transform part of its factory in Osaka into Japan’s largest production lines for large-scale batteries to power its own AI data centres. The Co. aims to bring the production online within the next 5 years, Bloomberg reports citing sources. (Bloomberg)

South Korea

Hyundai Motor Co. (005380 KS), Kia (000270 KS) - Co. and affiliate Kia Corp. March Europe vehicle sales rose 5.5% Y/Y to 116,827 units (prev. 110,734 units Y/Y). (Yonhap)

Hyundai Motor Co. (005380 KS) - Co. Q1 (KRW) net fell 23.6% Y/Y to 2.58tln (prev. 3.38tln Y/Y), EBIT fell 30.8% Y/Y to 2.51tln, rev. rose 3.4% Y/Y to 45.93tln. (Yonhap)

Hyundai Rotem Co. (064350 KS) - Co. won a KRW 491bln contract to supply driverless electric multiple units for a metro project in Vietnam. (Yonhap)

JB Financial Group Co. (175330 KS) - Co. Q1 (KRW) net rose 3.2% Y/Y to 172.3bln, operating income rose 1.8% Y/Y to 221.3bln, rev. rose 8.2% Y/Y to 1.21tln. (Yonhap)

POSCO Future M Co. (003670 KS) - Co. received approval to build an artificial graphite anode material plant in Vietnam with KRW 357bln investment and target production from 2028. (Yonhap)

Samsung Epis Holdings Co. (0126Z0 KS) - Co. Q1 (KRW) net was 99.5bln, EBIT was 90.5bln, rev. was 453.9bln. (Yonhap)