PRE-MARKET JAPANESE AND SOUTH KOREAN STOCK NEWS: SoftBank Group (9984 JT) H1 2026 (JPY) net loss 768bln (prev. profit 2.9tln Y/Y), rev. 4.24tln (prev. 3.7tln Y/Y

ASICS (7936 JT) - Co. established an R&D department at its Australian subsidiary ASICS Oceania to strengthen footwear and product development through collaboration with local experts. (Nikkei)

Honda Motor (7267 JT) - Co. H1 2026 (JPY) net 516bln (prev. 311bln Y/Y), rev. 12tln (prev. 10.6tln Y/Y), cuts FY global vehicle sales guidance to 3.16mln units (prev. guidance 3.39mln); expects hybrid vehicles to remain the main driver of US electrification into the early 2030s as it scales back its EV strategy. (Newswires/Nikkei)

Kioxia Holdings (285A JT) - A leveraged product linked to the Co.'s shares debuted in Hong Kong, targeting 25% greater share price movements in what is reportedly the first such listing tied to a single Japanese stock. (Nikkei)

Mitsui Kinzoku (5706 JT) - Co. plans to invest JPY 190bln (USD 1.2bln) in a new copper foil factory in Malaysia to meet growing AI-related demand from data centres. (Nikkei)

SoftBank Group (9984 JT) - Co. H1 2026 (JPY) net loss 768bln (prev. profit 2.9tln Y/Y), rev. 4.24tln (prev. 3.7tln Y/Y). (Newswires)

Toyota Motor (7203 JT) - Co. plans to manufacture and sell Japanese-style ‘kei’ minitrucks in the US from 2027 amid rising demand for affordable, fuel-efficient vehicles. (Nikkei)

Dongwon Industries (006040 KS) - Co. Q3 (KRW) net fell 38.3% Y/Y to 62.7bln, EBIT rose 1.1% Y/Y to 149.7bln, rev. rose 6.6% Y/Y to 2.75tln. (Yonhap)

F&F (383220 KS) - Co. Q3 (KRW) net fell 34.6% Y/Y to 65.9bln (exp. 96.7bln), EBIT fell 15.3% Y/Y to 108.4bln, rev. fell 4.7% Y/Y to 452.1bln. (Yonhap)

Krafton (259960 KS) - Co. Q3 (KRW) net loss 68.4bln, EBIT fell 35.5% Y/Y to 225bln, rev. rose 11.6% Y/Y to 971.4bln. (Yonhap)

Paradise (034230 KS) - Co. Q3 (KRW) net rose 17.1% Y/Y to 39.1bln, EBIT rose 62.3% Y/Y to 64.1bln, rev. rose 22% Y/Y to 351.7bln. (Yonhap)

South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Paris to discuss North Korea and bilateral issues, according to Seoul's Foreign Ministry. (Yonhap)

SoftBank's bottom line has long been a poor gauge of operating performance and a near-perfect reflection of investment marks: the swing from a multi-trillion-yen profit to a loss of this size is characteristic of a holding company whose earnings are dominated by fair-value moves in its portfolio, above all its listed stakes and Vision Fund valuations, rather than by any revenue line. In comparable episodes the market has focused less on the headline number than on what drove it, with swings in Arm's share price, gains or losses on derivative positions tied to listed holdings, and the read-across to private portfolio marks each repricing the stock differently. Revenue rising while net income collapses is the standard signature of mark-to-market losses, and past prints of this kind have tended to shift attention to net asset value and the persistent discount at which the shares trade relative to it. The points worth watching are management's commentary on monetisation, any change in buyback or asset-sale posture, and whether the loss is concentrated in listed names, where it is already visible in market prices, or in unlisted valuations, where the surprise carries more weight. As a widely held proxy for listed tech exposure in Tokyo, the name has historically transmitted moves both ways between its holdings and its own stock. Separately, the same tape carries Honda cutting its vehicle sales guidance while leaning on hybrids at the expense of EVs, a strategic pattern that has recurred across Japanese automakers in recent reporting seasons.