Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events, Quiddity Advisors

Travis Lundy

Pan-Asia Catalysts/Events

Quiddity Advisors

Event-Driven

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MUFG) / Event-Driven

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MUFG) (8306 JP)

<ul>
<li>Today, <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/sumitomo-mitsui-financial-group-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:217:1" rel="noopener">Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316 JP)</a> and <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/mitsubishi-ufj-financial-group" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:218:1" rel="noopener">Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MUFG) (8306 JP)</a> reported H1 earnings. <a href="https://www.smartkarma.com/entities/mizuho-financial-group-inc" target="_blank" data-smartkarma-citation="entities:219:1" rel="noopener">Mizuho Financial Group (8411 JP)</a> reported yesterday.</li>
<li>Mizuho raised full-year NP guidance by ~5%, passing the Street. SMFG raised its FY NP guidance 12.2%, also beating the Street. MUFG didn't raise guidance but H1 saw 71% progress.</li>
<li>Today, SMFG raised its div, and both SMFG (¥150bn) and MUFG (¥400bn) announced buybacks. Cross-holding unwind progress is waaay lower than we'd like, but capital stronger as a result.</li>
</ul>


Today, Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316 JP) and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (MUFG) (8306 JP) reported H1 earnings. Mizuho Financial Group (8411 JP) reported yesterday.
Mizuho raised full-year NP guidance by ~5%, passing the Street. SMFG raised its FY NP guidance 12.2%, also beating the Street. MUFG didn't raise guidance but H1 saw 71% progress.
Today, SMFG raised its div, and both SMFG (¥150bn) and MUFG (¥400bn) announced buybacks. Cross-holding unwind progress is waaay lower than we'd like, but capital stronger as a result.


I Like Big Bank Buybacks And I Cannot Lie

Japan Economist, Japan Macro Advisors

Takuji Okubo

Japan Economist

Concise and Insightful Analysis on Japan Economy

Japan Macro Advisors

Our mission is to provide a concise and timely analysis on the Japanese economy for the benefit of global audiences. Communication, especially in foreign languages, has always been a weakness for the Japanese, which was fine when Japan's economic might attracted foreign media and various other institutions to study and report on Japan - such days are long gone. In the last two decades, we saw foreign institutions reallocating their resources from Japan to other more exciting parts of the world. As a result, when we read reporting on Japan in foreign media, we sense a subtle but noticeable decline in the depth of understanding what is actually happening in Japan.

Macroeconomics

<ul>
<li>No monetary policy signal. Himino's speech was entirely focused on digital finance and payment system architecture. This reduces the probability of a June rate hike, in my view.</li>
<li>He described Scott Bessent's stablecoin vision as designed to "induce people around the world to finance the US fiscal deficit", taking a mild jab at the credibility of US dollar.  </li>
<li>Japan will not follow the US toward lighter-touch crypto regulation. Himino's explicit reference to anonymity of crypto use as a "problematic motive" signals his weariness about crypto.  </li>
</ul>


No monetary policy signal. Himino's speech was entirely focused on digital finance and payment system architecture. This reduces the probability of a June rate hike, in my view.
He described Scott Bessent's stablecoin vision as designed to "induce people around the world to finance the US fiscal deficit", taking a mild jab at the credibility of US dollar.  
Japan will not follow the US toward lighter-touch crypto regulation. Himino's explicit reference to anonymity of crypto use as a "problematic motive" signals his weariness about crypto.  


BoJ Himino: A Blunt Critique of US Digital Finance Strategy

Asia Pac ECM and Index Rebal, Shenton Research

Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

Asia Pac ECM and Index Rebal

Asia Pac IPO & Placement Research, China Biotech

Shenton Research

Shenton Research is an independent Asia Pacific equity specialist. Our quantitative research covers index rebalancing flows, alongside exchange data analytics accross Asia Pacific. On the equity capital markets side, we focus on Asia Pacific ECM, especially biotech and TMT. Our lead analyst is frequently cited by international media.

Quantitative Analysis

<ul>
<li>We analyzed the changes in margin trading positions of JPX stocks as of Oct 2nd. The aggregated net margin trading position is USD30,228m.</li>
<li>We tabulate league tables for top/bottom net long/short of margin trading by value, net margin buy as multiple of ADT.</li>
<li>We highlight net margin buy/sell changes in Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Advantest, Fujikura, Lasertec, Simplex, Furukawa Electric, Tokyo Electron, Nagoya Railroad, Taiyo Yuden, Toyota Motor.</li>
</ul>


We analyzed the changes in margin trading positions of JPX stocks as of Oct 2nd. The aggregated net margin trading position is USD30,228m.
We tabulate league tables for top/bottom net long/short of margin trading by value, net margin buy as multiple of ADT.
We highlight net margin buy/sell changes in Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Advantest, Fujikura, Lasertec, Simplex, Furukawa Electric, Tokyo Electron, Nagoya Railroad, Taiyo Yuden, Toyota Motor.


JPX Margin Trading Weekly (Oct 2nd): Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Advantest, Fujikura, Lasertec

Head of Research, Krungthai XSpring

Waraporn Wiboonkanarak

Head of Research

A full service Thai brokerage

Krungthai XSpring

Krungthai XSpring is a full service broker. The company provides a wide range of investment services such as Securities Brokerage, Derivative Agent Business, Securities Borrowing and Lending, Securities Trading, Underwriting, Financial Advisory, Wealth Advisory, Private Fund Management and International Markets Securities Trading. 

In terms of credibility, Fitch Ratings has assigned Krunghtai XSpring a long-term rating of AA- and a national short-term rating of F1+ with stable outlook.

Thematic (Sector/Industry)

<ul><li>We recommend taking profit on UNIQLO80 with a return of 17.5%, following a strong share price rally after better-than-expected results.</li><li>Management also provided a positive outlook, noting that cost pressures from the Middle East situation remain limited.</li><li>At the same time, we recommend opening positions in AMD80, ASML01, and GOOG80, which are DRs linked to leading global technology stocks.</li></ul>

We recommend taking profit on UNIQLO80 with a return of 17.5%, following a strong share price rally after better-than-expected results.Management also provided a positive outlook, noting that cost pressures from the Middle East situation remain limited.At the same time, we recommend opening positions in AMD80, ASML01, and GOOG80, which are DRs linked to leading global technology stocks.

KTX TACTICAL DR PICKS - April 16, 2026 (Eng.)

Asia L/S Equity PM/Macro/Thematic Idea Generation

Rikki Malik

Cross Asset Strategy

<ul>
<li>We first review at Q1 performance in the major markets we follow</li>
<li>The worst may be over in but news flow will drive markets in the short-term</li>
<li>We look at foreign positioning and fund flow data to assess risks</li>
</ul>


We first review at Q1 performance in the major markets we follow
The worst may be over in but news flow will drive markets in the short-term
We look at foreign positioning and fund flow data to assess risks


Japan

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Inc. is a holding company established by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.  Sumitomo Mitsui Card Co., SMBC Leasing Co., and The Japanese Research Institute, Ltd. joined the Group in Feb., 2003. The Company manages financial operations for its subsidiaries.  The Group provides commercial banking and a variety of financial services.

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (Sponsored Adr) (SMFG US)

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (Sponsored Adr)

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Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (Sponsored Adr) (SMFG US)

I Like Big Bank Buybacks And I Cannot Lie

Japan's Three Megabanks reported earnings on 13-14 November. Two raised FY guidance above the street. MUFG did not raise guidance but H1 saw 71%...

Travis Lundy

BoJ Himino: A Blunt Critique of US Digital Finance Strategy

BoJ Himino Speech: No hints for near term policy decision, reducing June hike probability. His speech revealed a rare blunt critique of US policy...

Takuji Okubo

JPX Margin Trading Weekly (Oct 2nd): Mitsubishi UFJ Financial, Advantest, Fujikura, Lasertec

We analyzed JPX margin trading positions report for the past week and highlighted Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (8306 JP), Advantest (6857 JP), Fujikura...

Ke Yan, CFA, FRM

KTX TACTICAL DR PICKS - April 16, 2026 (Eng.)

We recommend taking profit on UNIQLO80 with a return of 17.5%, following a strong share price rally after better-than-expected results.

Krungthai XSpring

Q2 Outlook - Asian Equity Markets

Our outlook for Q2 2026 onwards. Separating the short-term noise from our longer-term investment themes. In Part 2 look at Asian equities

Rikki Malik

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