Global Stock Markets

Mitsubishi Electric is building three new production facilities in Japan to manufacture electronic systems for the Global Combat Air Programme, targeting a defence sales increase to 690 billion yen ($4.4 billion) by March 2031, channelnewsasia.com reports. The capital commitment signals that the joint British, Italian, and Japanese initiative to deploy a next-generation fighter by 2035 is progressing from preliminary design into hardware deployment. CFO Kenichiro Fujimoto expects the project to boost company earnings around fiscal 2029 or 2030, with government funds compensating the group for prototype builds and initial staffing. The company is relying on a looser Japanese export regime to drive this growth alongside shipments of warship equipment to Australia and components for RTX Corp.'s AMRAAM missiles. Beyond fixed fighter contracts, Western stockpiles depleted by conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East present an immediate demand driver for Japanese defense lines. Mitsubishi Electric aims to expand annual defence revenues by over 50 percent from current levels, driven largely by foreign military sales.

South Korea's SK Hynix fell 9.71% on Thursday following an overnight selloff in U.S. artificial intelligence equities, cnbc.com reports. The drop pulled down Asian semiconductor suppliers and memory chipmakers that provide hardware for the global AI buildout. Japanese memory maker Kioxia dropped 8.84%, Samsung Electronics fell 6.13%, and equipment supplier Tokyo Electron lost over 5%. SoftBank dropped 4.36%, Advantest fell 2.14%, and contract chipmaker TSMC declined 1.46%. Leveraged chip bets have amplified price swings in South Korea's stock market. Despite the selloff, J.P. Morgan stated in a Wednesday note that fundamental demand remains intact and hyperscale tech companies are not expected to reduce capital expenditure over the next 6 to 12 months. S&P Global reported that global purchasing managers' index output for tech equipment expanded in July at its fastest monthly pace since May 2021.

Iran and Oman are finalizing a deal to jointly manage vessel traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, according to reporting by oilprice.com. The deal under negotiation would hand Tehran operational control over maritime traffic moving through the choke point, through which roughly a fifth of global petroleum flows. Crude markets eased on the prospect of reduced transit friction, with Brent crude dipping to $79.12 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate dropping 0.57% to $74.79 per barrel. The diplomatic push comes despite threats from President Trump of severe strikes if broader regional peace talks falter. The stakes for Gulf infrastructure are immediate: Iranian officials warned that any U.S. military action against domestic targets will trigger direct retaliatory strikes against Gulf energy facilities.