PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN, JAPANESE AND SOUTH KOREAN STOCKS NEWS: Eaernings from QBE and Nexon

AUSTRALIA Baby Bunting (BBN AT) - Co. FY (AUD) net rose 18% Y/Y to 11.2mln, pro forma net rose 34% Y/Y to 16.1mln, rev. rose 6.5% Y/Y to 556.0mln, no final dividend, same-store sales rose 4.3% and total sales rose 6.1% in the first six weeks of FY27. (Dow Jones Newsplus) Bell Financial Group (BFG AT) - Co. H1 (AUD) net rose 133.3% Y/Y to 21.7mln, rev. rose 36.3% Y/Y to 165.6mln. (Motley Fool) Capricorn Metals (CMM AT) - Co. acquired the highly prospective Piastri Project, expanding its Golden Range Project tenure in Western Australia for AUD 1.5mln in Capricorn shares. (Motley Fool) Inghams Group (ING AT) - Co. said it has not received any inbound offer or approach of the nature speculated in media reports. IPD Group (IPG AT) - Co. FY (AUD) underlying net rose 17.9% Y/Y to 30.9mln, underlying EBITDA rose 19.4% Y/Y to 55.4mln, rev. rose 16.8% Y/Y to 414.3mln. (Motley Fool) Meridian Energy (MEZ AT) - Co. July total generation rose 18.0% Y/Y to 1,371GWh, while retail sales volumes rose 2.3% Y/Y and residential volumes increased 13.6%, as national electricity demand reached a record and rose 1.9% Y/Y. (Motley Fool) QBE Insurance (QBE AT) - Co. H1 (USD) net 1.03bln (prev. 1.02bln Y/Y), rev. 11.95bln (prev. 10.88bln Y/Y), gross written premium 15.14bln (prev. 13.82bln Y/Y), dividend AUD 0.33 (prev. AUD 0.31). (Dow Jones Newsplus) Broker Ratings/Price Target Amcor (AMC AT) Price target cut 1.0% to AUD 71.30/shr by Macquarie. ASX (ASX AT) Downgraded to Underperform from Neutral, price target raised 2.0% to AUD 52.00/shr by Macquarie; downgraded to Neutral from Buy, price target raised 7.9% to AUD 66.90/shr by UBS. Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (CLW AT) Price target cut 7.8% to AUD 3.43/shr by Macquarie. Insurance Australia Group (IAG AT) Price target cut 2.7% to AUD 7.10/shr by Macquarie; price target cut 2.1% to AUD 9.25/shr by UBS. Origin Energy (ORG AT) Price target raised 8.0% to AUD 10.80/shr by Macquarie; price target cut 1.4% to AUD 13.25/shr by UBS. Orora (ORA AT) Price target cut 2.9% to AUD 1.65/shr by UBS. Telstra (TLS AT) Price target cut 3.4% to AUD 5.02/shr by Macquarie; price target cut 4.7% to AUD 5.05/shr by UBS. Transurban (TCL AT) Price target cut 0.7% to AUD 14.40/shr by UBS. Treasury Wine Estates (TWE AT) Price target raised 12% to AUD 5.50/shr by Macquarie; price target raised 4% to AUD 6.50/shr by UBS. JAPAN Kioxia Holdings (285A JT) - Several US asset managers are seeking regulatory approval to launch leveraged ETFs linked to the Co.’s shares, potentially making products tracking the Japanese memory-chip maker available to investors. (Nikkei) Mori Building - Co. is joining a New York City redevelopment project valued at more than JPY 100bln, marking its first US redevelopment project, with the USD 600mln office tower expected to be completed in 2031. (Nikkei) Orix JREIT (8954 JT) - Co. secured JPY 3bln in new loans from three Japanese banks and will prepay JPY 2bln of existing debt. (Newswires) Geopolitical Japan is considering countermeasures following Russian President Putin’s visit to a disputed island. (NHK) Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Medvedev earlier said anyone who does not recognise Russian ownership of the Kuril Islands would face “dire” consequences. (Newswires) Other News Japan’s top IT companies aim to shift towards AI-led development by 2030. (Nikkei) Japan plans to introduce stronger AI safeguards as model capabilities advance, with new rules expected to include stricter disclosure requirements for generative AI. (Nikkei) SOUTH KOREA Nexon (3659 JT) - Co. Q2 (KRW) net rose 72% Y/Y to 278.8bln, operating profit fell 19.3% Y/Y to 294.3bln, rev. rose 1% Y/Y to 1.14tln. (Yonhap) Shipbuilders - US President Trump signed a memorandum temporarily permitting foreign shipbuilders to construct two ships in their own shipyards. (Yonhap)