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PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN, JAPANESE AND SOUTH KOREAN STOCKS NEWS: Northern Star Resources (NST AT) is preparing potential sales of non-core mining assets as it seeks to defend against a takeover bid, while Hyundai and Kia provided sales updates

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PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN, JAPANESE AND SOUTH KOREAN STOCKS NEWS: Northern Star Resources (NST AT) is preparing potential sales of non-core mining assets as it seeks to defend against a takeover bid, while Hyundai and Kia provided sales updates

Japanese Tokyo CPI Ex Food and Energy (Sep YY) 3.0% vs. Exp. 2.5% (Prev. 2.0%)

Japanese Tokyo Core CPI (Sep YY) 2.7% vs. Exp. 2.4% (Prev. 1.8%)

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AUSTRALIA

Northern Star Resources (NST AT) - Co. is preparing potential sales of non-core mining assets as it seeks to defend against Gold Fields’ AUD 38.7bln takeover bid. (The Australian)

Origin Energy (ORG AT) - Co. has abandoned its Skye Ridge wind farm project in NSW amid rising construction costs and will focus development efforts on the Northern Tablelands Wind Farm. (The Australian)

Firmus Technologies - Co. is targeting a AUD 43.7bln valuation in what would be Australia’s second-largest IPO, as it seeks to capitalise on rising AI computing demand. (The Australian)

Broker Ratings/Price Target

  • Computershare (CPU AT) price target cut 2.6% to AUD 38.00/shr by Macquarie.
  • Evolution Mining (EVN AT) price target cut 4% to AUD 13.50/shr by Macquarie.
  • QBE Insurance (QBE AT) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral, price target raised 12% to AUD 26.20/shr by Macquarie.
  • Transurban (TCL AT) upgraded to Outperform from Neutral, price target raised 3.7% to AUD 14.00/shr by Macquarie.

JAPAN

Daikin Industries (6367 JT) - Co. faces investor pressure to improve capital efficiency and consider shedding underperforming businesses as its assets grow faster than profits and ROE trails US rivals. (Nikkei)

Nidec (6594 JT) - Co.’s new CEO Michio Kaida apologised for another leadership change amid the accounting scandal and said his priority is to rebuild the company and restore trust; the Co. is working with PwC Japan and aims to obtain an audit opinion in October after the auditor issued a disclaimer of opinion on its delayed financial statements. (Reuters)

Synspective (290A JT) - Co. signed its largest launch contract to date with Rocket Lab (RKLB US) for 20 satellite launches. (Nikkei)

Toshiba - Co. plans to double production capacity for hard disk drives used in AI data centres by FY27, including expanding its Philippine plant and increasing storage capacity per drive. (Nikkei)

Banks

Major Japanese banks have uncovered roughly twice as many system vulnerabilities following the release of Mythos AI, highlighting increased cybersecurity risks and prompting calls for stronger defences. (Nikkei)

Other News

Japanese PM Takaichi said the government will appropriately control total annual government bond issuance across initial and supplementary budgets while meeting necessary fiscal needs under its “responsible proactive fiscal policy”; she added that the yen’s undervaluation is a problem, Japan’s economic policy is not aimed at manipulating FX, and the planned consumption tax cut on food should be reflected in lower prices. (Newswires)

Japanese PM Takaichi has moved away from reflationary policy as the US presses Japan over economic policy and the yen. (Nikkei)

SOUTH KOREA

Hyundai Mobis (012330 KS) - Co. signed a KRW 600bln deal to sell its lamp unit to France’s OPmobility following the unit’s spin-off in April. (Yonhap)

Hyundai Motor (005380 KS) - Co.’s September sales fell 16% Y/Y amid fewer working days due to the Chuseok holiday, while US sales rose 9% Y/Y to 77,439 vehicles, marking its highest-ever September sales; the Co. also unveiled its next-generation Tucson SUV in New York. (Yonhap)

Kia (000270 KS) - Co.’s September sales rose 5.1% Y/Y on strong overseas SUV demand, while US sales rose 18% Y/Y to 77,009 vehicles, marking its highest-ever September sales. (Yonhap)

Shinhan Financial Group (055550 KS) - Shinhan Bank said personal information of around 25,000 customers was leaked in an apparent AI agent-assisted hacking incident, prompting the financial watchdog to conduct an on-site inspection. (Yonhap)

Context

Pre-market regional roundups of this kind rarely set the agenda for the session on their own; the items that have historically carried are the contested bid defences and the activist capital-return campaigns, since both re-rate the name directly rather than via sector read-through. Asset sales as a takeover defence are a well-worn playbook in Australian mining: the target moves to crystallise value in non-core units, raise the bidder's required price, and hand cash back, a sequence that has typically forced the acquirer to either bump terms or walk, with the interim usually spent in a valuation argument over the assets being carved out. The Daikin item fits the established Japanese pattern where governance pressure on ROE and capital efficiency, once it reaches the press, tends to precede a management response of buybacks or divestments rather than be ignored, which is what made such stories tradeable in past waves of Tokyo reform. The Nidec disclosure carries its own history: accounting scandals at Japanese industrials have tended to overhang the stock until a clean audit opinion is secured, making the stated audit timetable the operative date. The Hyundai and Kia prints follow the usual monthly sequence where domestic holiday distortion is stripped out and the US line drives the tape reaction. Otherwise the notes are single-name and idiosyncratic, and the bulletin as a whole is colour rather than a macro signal.

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