PRE-MARKET JAPANESE AND SOUTH KOREAN STOCKS NEWS: Toyota (7203 JT) and Honda (7267 JT) restarted production in Thailand after floods; US tech giants reportedly pressuring Samsung (005930 KS) and SK Hynix (000660 KS) on memory prices

US stocks rebounded to start the week with the tech-laden Nasdaq leading the gains as AI concerns eased over the weekend, although breadth was poor outside of AI names. Hyperscaler and mega-cap names drove gains within Tech and Consumer Discretionary.

Sourcenext (4344 JT) - Japan's publishing industry protested to Co. over its software that converts e-books into PDFs for AI summarisation. (Nikkei)

Softbank (9984 JT) - OpenAI is reportedly rushing to secure investor commitments for a private funding round ahead of Anthropic's IPO, with SoftBank (9984 JT) and MGX in discussions to participate, according to sources. (Newswires)

Toyota Motor (7203 JT) - Co. and Honda (7267 JT) restarted production in Thailand as businesses recover from flooding. (Nikkei)

Trend Micro (4704 JT) - Co.'s CEO warned that Japan faces a new "storm" of cyberattacks as criminals use stolen personal data and AI to launch more targeted scams and intrusions. (Nikkei)

Hyundai Glovis (086280 KS) - Co. is seeking to expand its vehicle logistics operations at the Port of Philadelphia, having signed an MoU with PhilaPort and a local developer to secure a new berth for car carriers, develop additional vehicle storage and extend its land lease at the port through 2056. (Yonhap)

Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Co. has reportedly begun production of its next-generation Exynos 2700 mobile processor on a 2nm process for the Galaxy S27 series, boosting output by 10%. (Chosun Ilbo)

SK Hynix (000660 KS) - US big tech firms including Apple and Tesla are reportedly pressuring Co. and Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) to lower memory prices by citing Chinese suppliers CXMT and YMTC as alternatives, although analysts said the Chinese suppliers' limited volumes and sales regions make it difficult to curb the price surge. (Chosun Ilbo)

South Korean President Lee signalled opposition to easing lending rules despite surging property prices, warning borrowers face paying at least twice as much interest once five-year fixed-rate mortgage periods expire, and said domestic stocks are "still undervalued". (Seoul Economic Daily)

South Korea's ruling Democratic Party will submit the Super Mega-Regional Special Zone bill on 20th October to attract advanced-industry investment, including a contentious exemption from working-hour caps for high-paid professionals and R&D staff. (Seoul Economic Daily)

Creditors of JoongAng Ilbo picked the DaouKiwoom-CJ consortium as preferred bidder for the debt-laden newspaper publisher, beating Orion and four others in a deal estimated at KRW 400-500bln, industry sources said. (Yonhap)

South Korean President Lee halted the bid to apply for CPTPP membership this year amid a backlash from farmers. (Chosun Ilbo)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's sister Kim Yo Jong called the situation at the southern border "very unstable" and mentioned a resumption of loudspeaker broadcasts. (Yonhap)

US President Trump signalled uncertainty about meeting the North Korean leader in China next month. (Yonhap)

Japan reportedly plans certifications for data centres and cloud services to curb China risk, and will urge finance and other key sectors to use secure infrastructure. (Nikkei)

The BoJ is preparing to shift its focus to keeping inflation stable around 2% as its target comes within reach. (Nikkei)

The Japanese government plans to extend the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Middle East mission by one year to November 2027 to ensure the safety of Japanese-linked vessels. (Kyodo)

Japan launched its H3 rocket carrying a probe to the moons of Mars on a five-year sample-return mission. (Nikkei)

This is a broad pre-market Asia wrap rather than a single market-moving print, and such roundups tend to set regional sector tone without a dominant driver. The most tradable thread is the memory pricing story: buyers citing Chinese alternatives in negotiations with the Korean suppliers is a recurring pattern in tight DRAM cycles, and historically the constraint has been that second-source capacity outside the two Korean leaders and Micron is insufficient to break spot pricing, so such pressure has tended to cap rather than reverse the memory upcycle. The Toyota and Honda restart is routine post-disruption news; Thai flood stoppages have in past episodes produced short-lived supply hits to the automakers and their local parts chain rather than persistent earnings damage. The note that the BoJ is shifting emphasis toward holding inflation around target is the item with the widest transmission, into front-end JGBs and the yen, and commentary of this kind ahead of policy meetings has previously raised sensitivity to Tokyo CPI and wage data. Korean political items, property lending rhetoric and the CPTPP pause, fit the pattern of domestic policy noise that moves KOSPI domestics and KRW only at the margin. Watch for confirmation from memory spot prices and for follow-on official BoJ commentary as the tell for which thread carries into the session.