PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN, JAPANESE & SOUTH KOREAN STOCKS NEWS: Rio Tinto quarterly production update, Japanese airlines brought forward fuel surcharge increases

AUSTRALIA

Challenger (CGF AT) - Co. Q3 (AUD) total life sales rose 19% Y/Y to 1.7bln, lifetime annuity sales rose 18% Y/Y to 289mln, offshore reinsurance annuity sales rose 17% Y/Y to 281mln. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Hub24 (HUB AT) - Co. Q3 (AUD) platform net inflows rose 9% Y/Y to 4.0bln, funds under administration rose 22% Y/Y to 151.7bln. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Lynas Rare Earths (LYC AT) - Co. Q3 NdPr production 1,996 tons, total production 3,233 tons, rev. AUD 265.0mln. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Rio Tinto (RIO AT) - Co. Q1 (AUD) iron ore output rose 13% Y/Y to 78.8mln tons, iron ore sales rose 2% Y/Y to 72.4mln tons, copper output rose 9% Y/Y to 229k tons, aluminium output rose 1% Y/Y to 840k tons, while Co. is actively testing the market for its borates business and evaluating options for its iron and titanium business. (Dow Jones Newsplus)

Broker Ratings/Price Target

Worley (WOR AT) price target cut 7.2% to AUD 11.48/shr by Jefferies

JAPAN

Canon Electronics (7739 JT) - Co. said its shares will be delisted from the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market on April 21st, following shareholder approval of a share consolidation plan. (Newswires)

Eneos Corp. (5020 JT) - Co. is experiencing an unplanned shutdown of the 145k barrels-per-day crude distillation unit at its Sendai refinery since April 16. (Newswires)

Mitsubishi Corp. (8058 JT) - Co. has started full-scale operations at a power plant in Vietnam that will procure coal from nearby countries, helping Hanoi reduce dependence on Middle Eastern energy and maintain a stable supply amid rapid economic growth. (Nikkei)

Nissan Motor (7201 JT) - Co. has achieved performance targets with a prototype all-solid-state battery pack for EVs, moving closer to planned mass production in fiscal 2028. (Nikkei)

Nojima (7419 JT) - Co. plans to acquire Hitachi’s (6501 JT) consumer appliance unit for a sum expected to exceed JPY 100bln. (Nikkei)

Airlines - All Nippon Airways (9202 JT) and Japan Airlines (9201 JT) announced they will bring forward fuel surcharge rises by one month as jet fuel costs increase faster than expected. (Nikkei)

Other News

BoJ is reportedly likely to keep rates on hold at the April meeting, according to Reuters reports citing sources, with the decision due to the prolonged impact of the Middle East war, while the BoJ may still signal a readiness to hike given increasing price pressures, potentially as early as June. (Newswires)

Japan’s government is planning to invest JPY 1tln (USD 6.3bln) through the end of the decade to develop facilities and technology capable of recycling critical minerals and plastics from waste. (Nikkei)

SOUTH KOREA

HD Construction Equipment Co. (267270 KS) - Co. has signed a contract to supply 264 power-generating engines to Portuguese generator manufacturer Grupel. (Yonhap)

Naver Corp. (035420 KS) - Co. has signed an MOU with the IT arm of India’s Tata Group to explore business opportunities in the South Asian nation. (Yonhap)

POSCO Holdings (005490 KS) - Co. said POSCO Group has signed a final agreement with JSW Steel (JSTL IS) to jointly invest KRW 10.7tln to build a steel plant in India. (Yonhap)

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Co. has expanded its SmartThings connectivity platform to support products from IKEA. (Yonhap)

Samsung SDI (006400 KS) - Co. has secured a multiyear contract to supply high-performance batteries to Mercedes-Benz, marking a major win as it navigates a shift in its primary European production hub. (Nikkei)