PRE-MARKET AUSTRALIAN, JAPANESE & SOUTH KOREAN STOCK NEWS: Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) introduced the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Fold8 and Flip8 foldable smartphone lineup

AUSTRALIA                                                 James Hardie Industries (JHX AT) - Co. Q1 (USD) prelim. net 102-104mln, EBITDA 399-407mln (prev. 354-375mln guidance), rev. 1.449bln-1.475 (prev. 1.315-1.354bln guidance). (Dow Jones Newsplus)Macquarie Group (MQG AT) - Co. announced CEO and Managing Director Shemara Wikramanayake will retire on 6 November and be succeeded by Greg Ward on 7 November. Co. said Q1 net profit contribution fell Y/Y in Asset Management, rose in Banking & Financial Services and Macquarie Capital, and rose substantially in Commodities & Global Markets; Asset Management had AUD 748.0bln in AUM and AUD 20.3bln of capital to deploy, Banking & Financial Services had AUD 223.3bln in deposits, a AUD 191.5bln mortgage portfolio and AUD 163.3bln of funds on platform, while Macquarie Capital had a AUD 27.2bln private-credit portfolio and AUD 5.1bln equity portfolio. (Dow Jones Newsplus) (Dow Jones Newsplus)Perseus Mining (PRU AT) - Co. appointed Thomas McKeith as a Non-Executive Director, effective immediately. (Dow Jones Newsplus)Santos (STO AT) - Co. Q2 output rose 3% Q/Q to 23.1mln BoE, cut FY26 production guidance to 99mln-105mln barrels of oil equivalent, citing challenges commissioning new projects. (Dow Jones Newsplus)Broker Ratings/Price TargetLynas Rare Earths (LYC AT) - Price target cut 7% to AUD 20.50/shr at Macquarie.Westgold Resources (WGX AT) - Price target cut 15% to AUD 7.20/shr at Macquarie.JAPANInpex (1605 JT) - Co. will begin trial drilling for an undersea carbon capture and storage project off Chiba Prefecture to assess the site's suitability for storing emissions. (Nikkei)Mitsui (8031 JT) - Co., alongside Penske Corp., proposed to acquire the remaining shares of Penske Automotive Group for USD 210/shr in a deal valuing the equity at approximately USD 13.8bln. (Newswires)NEC (6701 JT) - Co.'s CEO pushed back against concerns that AI threatens traditional IT and software businesses after the shares fell nearly 20% from the end of 2025. (Nikkei)Toyota Tsusho (8015 JT) - Co. plans to invest JPY 1.2tln through March 2028 as it seeks to become the world's largest metal-scrap recycler early next decade. (Nikkei)Other NewsBoJ officials viewed the recent weakness in the yen as an upside risk to inflation, according to Bloomberg sources. The report said the BoJ was widely expected to leave rates unchanged in July following its June hike and was approaching a stage where inflation expectations were becoming anchored. Furthermore, officials were reportedly open to raising rates more frequently than every six months, while some believed it was important to scrutinise upside inflation risks and saw evidence that companies were passing higher costs on to consumers more quickly than in the past. (Newswires)SOUTH KOREASamsung Biologics (207940 KS) - Co. Q2 (KRW) net rose 29.1% Y/Y to KRW 430.7bln, rev. rose 30.2% Y/Y to KRW 1.32tln. (Yonhap)Samsung Electronics (005930 KS) - Co. introduced the Galaxy Z Fold8 Ultra, Fold8 and Flip8 foldable smartphone lineup. (Dow Jones Newsplus)