PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN, JAPANESE AND SOUTH KOREAN STOCKS NEWS: Japanese markets closed for holiday

AUSTRALIA

• 4DMedical (4DX AT) - Co. announced a one-year engagement with GlaxoSmithKline to provide lung imaging analytics. (Company Announcement)
• A2 Milk (A2M AT) - Co. faces potential headwinds after a recall of US-bound baby formula following cereulide toxin detection. (ADVFN)
• Bank of Queensland (BOQ AT) - Co. confirmed the completion of a AUD 3.6bln loan sale. (Company Statement)
• Coles Group (COL AT) - Co. reported third-quarter supermarket sales rose 4%, while shares fell 3.6%. (Newswires)
• Mineral Resources (MIN AT) - Co. rallied 3% after upgrading production guidance. (Motley Fool)
• National Australia Bank (NAB AT) - Co. H1 (AUD) net profit fell 19% Y/Y to 2.75bln. (Motley Fool)
• ResMed (RMD AT) - Co. shares fell roughly 7.7% over the week despite beating Q3 earnings estimates, as investors remained concerned about the impact of GLP-1 weight-loss drugs on sleep apnea device demand. (Motley Fool)
• Woolworths (WOW AT) - Co. shares fell 7.8% after warning rising fuel costs and supply-chain inflation would impact 4Q26 earnings, prompting Bell Potter to downgrade the stock to hold while Morgans upgraded it on valuation grounds. (Motley Fool)

JAPAN (Holiday)

• Fast Retailing (9983 JT) - Co. raised its FY operating profit forecast to JPY 700bln following strong earnings before the Golden Week break. (Company Announcement)
• Mazda Motor (7261 JT) - Co. formally announced it will end domestic production of the Mazda2 compact car as part of a strategic lineup shift. (Company Announcement)
• Mitsubishi Electric (6503 JT) - aims to establish a joint venture with Rohm (6963 JT) and Toshiba (6502 JT) to integrate their power semiconductor businesses, signalling continued progress in three-way consolidation talks. (digitimes)
• SoftBank Group (9984 JT) - Co. is reportedly pivoting its AI infrastructure strategy towards data centre batteries that do not require lithium or cobalt. (Nikkei)
• Sumitomo Corporation (8053 JT) - Co. announced a 4-for-1 share split, a share repurchase of up to 22mln shares worth roughly JPY 50bln, and plans to sell its Madagascar nickel mine business, resulting in a projected USD 540mln non-operating loss. (Company Announcement)
• Japan Retail Sector - Analysts warned of weakening retailer momentum during Golden Week as high inflation weighed on average domestic holiday spending despite high traveller volumes. (Analyst Commentary)
• Japan Market Sentiment - Suspected Ministry of Finance intervention to defend the yen remained a dominant market focus after the currency breached 160 per dollar. (Newswires)
• Tokyo Stock Exchange - Exchange remained closed through Golden Week, with normal trading set to resume after the holiday period. (Exchange Schedule)

SOUTH KOREA

• Celltrion (068270 KS) - Co. remained in focus after a large volume spike, with analysts pointing to its biosimilar pipeline, including Zymfentra, as a key healthcare-sector driver. (Newswires)
• Hanwha Aerospace (012450 KS) - Co. was highlighted as a key driver of Hanwha Group’s market-cap gains amid strong demand for defence assets. (Top Daily)
• Hanwha Ocean (042660 KS) - Co. was highlighted as a key driver of Hanwha Group’s market-cap gains amid strong demand for energy and shipbuilding assets. (Top Daily)
• Hyosung Heavy Industries (294870 KS) - Co. is reportedly weighing a stock split to improve retail accessibility and liquidity as shares near KRW 4mln. (Seoul Economic Daily)
• Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Analysts noted Co. and SK Hynix now represent roughly 38%-42% of the KOSPI’s total market value and profit weight. (Bloomberg)
• Samsung Securities (016360 KS) - Co. set a 4,900 KOSPI target for 2026, based on assumptions for 20% annual growth in global liquidity and US profits. (Maeil Business News)
• SK Hynix (000660 KS) - Co. was described by analysts as an “emperor stock” after a 93% Y/Y market-cap surge helped drive rapid growth in SK Group’s market value. (Korea Economic Daily)
• South Korea Market Strategy - Four out of 10 top brokerage CEOs now expect the KOSPI to break 8,000 this year. (Seoul Economic Daily)
• South Korea Sector Strategy - Analysts noted rotation from AI and chips into batteries amid valuation fatigue in semiconductor leaders. (Korea Herald)
• Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Citi lowered price target by 6.3% to KRW 300,000, citing potential labour-related bonus provisions that could impact 2026 operating profit by up to 11%. (Newswires)