PRE-MARKET JAPANESE AND SOUTH KOREAN STOCKS NEWS: Japanese megabank earnings updates

JAPAN Daiichi Life Group (8750 JT) - Co. forecasts FY27 (JPY) net profit of 513bln and ordinary revenue of 10.666tln. (Newswires) ITOCHU Corporation (8001 JT) - Co. agreed to acquire a 19.43% stake in Bunka Shutter (5930 JT) for JPY 27.4bln from a group of investors, including NAVF Select, Nippon Active Value Fund and Dalton Investments. (Newswires) Japan Post Insurance (7181 JT) - Co. H1 FY27 (JPY) net fell 7.3% Y/Y to 87bln, ordinary income fell 7.6% Y/Y to 2.662tln, interim dividend 25/shr, raised FY27 net guidance to 172bln (prev. 141bln) and ordinary income guidance to 5.33tln (prev. 5.13tln), alongside a share buyback of up to 50mln shares worth JPY 47bln. (Newswires) Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306 JT) - Co. H1 FY27 (JPY) net rose 26.1% Y/Y to 1.631tln, net interest income rose 28.6% Y/Y to 1.851tln, raised FY27 net guidance to 2.8tln (prev. 2.7tln), supported by stronger customer business performance and increased equity earnings from Morgan Stanley. (Newswires) Mizuho Financial Group (8411 JT) - Co. H1 FY27 (JPY) net rose 29.9% Y/Y to 896.5bln, net interest income rose 18.2% Y/Y to 771.3bln, ordinary income rose 15.1% Y/Y to 4.993tln, interim dividend 100/shr (prev. 72.50/shr), FY27 dividend guidance 200/shr (prev. 145/shr FY26). (Newswires) Nitori Holdings (9843 JT) - Co. H1 FY27 (JPY) net rose 6.8% Y/Y to 44.6bln, rev. rose 0.8% Y/Y to 442.8bln, interim dividend 16/shr, payable December 8th. (Newswires) Shin-Etsu Chemical (4063 JT) - Co. announced a share buyback of up to 10mln shares, representing 0.55% of outstanding shares, valued at JPY 50bln, with the programme running until April 27th, 2027. (Newswires) Subaru (7270 JT) - Co. is developing a more fuel-efficient version of its signature boxer engine, aiming to standardise the design for use in both petrol and hybrid vehicles as it targets the US market. (Nikkei) Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316 JT) - Co. H1 FY27 (JPY) net rose 7.4% Y/Y to 1.003tln, ordinary income rose 11.4% Y/Y to 5.8tln, raised FY27 net guidance to 1.9tln (prev. 1.7tln), supported by higher domestic net interest income and fee income. (Newswires) T&D Holdings (8795 JT) - Co. H1 FY27 (JPY) net rose 13.5% Y/Y to 76.4bln, ordinary revenue fell 2.6% Y/Y to 1.673tln, interim dividend 82/shr (prev. 62/shr), payable December 4th. (Newswires) Topre (5975 JT) - Co. plans to invest USD 140mln in a new manufacturing facility in Alabama and upgrades to its Tennessee plant as Japanese automakers increase hybrid vehicle production. (Nikkei) Tech - Digital Realty Trust (DLR) plans to invest an additional USD 10bln in Japanese data centres over the next decade, aiming to nearly quadruple capacity amid growing demand for computing infrastructure. (Nikkei) SOUTH KOREA HD Hyundai (267250 KS) - Co. launched an autonomous surface vessel jointly developed with US defence firm Anduril Industries, as it seeks to expand into the US unmanned naval vessel market. (Yonhap) Hyundai Motor (005380 KS) - Co. signed an MoU with Socar and Apex Mobility to advance autonomous driving technology through the development of vehicle platforms and collection of real-world driving data in South Korea. (Yonhap) Kia (000270 KS) - Co. domestic electrified vehicle sales surpassed 300k units as of November 9th, becoming the first automaker in South Korea to reach the milestone within a single year. (Yonhap) Samsung SDI (006400 KS) - Co. secured a 16GWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery supply contract from Jupiter Power. (Newswires) TKG Huchems (069260 KS) - Co. Q3 (KRW) net loss 133.9bln (prev. profit 28.3bln Y/Y), operating income fell 20% Y/Y to 21.1bln, rev. rose 40.9% Y/Y to 411.2bln. (Yonhap) Tech - South Korean ICT sector exports rose to a record USD 70.35bln in October, more than tripling from USD 23.29bln Y/Y, driven by strong global demand linked to AI. (Yonhap)