Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) reported fiscal 2024 first-quarter net profit of 809.4 billion yen for April–June, up 48% year on year. The bank cited stronger domestic loan demand as Japan emerges from deflation and an expansion in net interest margins. MUFG also booked 222.2 billion yen of investment income from its 24.2% stake in Morgan Stanley. Over the same period, it increased Japanese government bond holdings by 1.37 trillion yen to 16.16 trillion yen.

Strong results from Microsoft and Amazon helped push the Nasdaq up nearly 3% for the week, sparking a historic rebound in South Korea’s KOSPI. South Korea’s government said it would inject almost US$14 billion into its sovereign wealth fund for AI investment and data-centre construction. SK Hynix jumped 30% in a single session after SK Group Chair Chey Taewon bought about US$3 million of the company’s shares in a personal capacity.

Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group reported a net loss of S$76 million in the first quarter of FY2026, swinging from a S$186 million profit a year earlier. Net fuel costs rose S$991 million year on year to S$2,253 million due to the Middle East conflict, while its share of losses from Air India increased by S$42 million. The group posted record revenue in the quarter, but the rise in expenditure significantly eroded profitability.

ChangXin Memory Technologies (CXMT), China’s leading DRAM chipmaker, raised 57.92 billion yuan in Asia’s largest IPO this year. The stock jumped from its 8.66 yuan offer price to 49.50 yuan in its Shanghai debut on Monday (Jul 27), lifting its market value to about 3.65 trillion yuan and briefly putting it ahead of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. The move highlights the premium investors are placing on a rare, pure-play domestic semiconductor heavyweight.

Singapore has removed the 15-month wait-out period for people who sell private homes and want to buy HDB resale flats, National Development Minister Chee Hong Tat said on July 28. The change takes effect immediately and is meant to reduce disruption for households with genuine housing needs when switching from private property to public resale flats. Authorities said the decision reflects improved market conditions, with lower interest rates easing mortgage servicing. The move is a domestic housing policy adjustment and does not involve cross-border financial tools or global traditional asset markets.

S&P Global has reaffirmed Indonesia’s sovereign credit rating at BBB/A-2 with a stable outlook, saying recent fiscal strains should be temporary and could be offset by higher commodity prices and spending cuts. The decision contrasts with Moody’s and Fitch, which cut their outlooks for Indonesia to negative earlier in the year, helping bolster market confidence in the country’s economic management. A Bank Indonesia official said the rupiah has significant room to strengthen after it recently touched a record low of 18,000 per dollar.

Oil tankers resumed transiting the Strait of Hormuz after the United States lifted its blockade on Iran and an interim deal to end the three-month war took effect. Brent crude futures fell 1 per cent on Friday to US$79.03 a barrel, down 9.5 per cent for the week. Japan’s Nikkei 225 marked a fifth straight record close and ended the week up 8.5%, while South Korea climbed 3.1% on the day and 15.3% for the week. Markets in mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan were closed for holidays.

The Federal Reserve raised its end-2026 PCE inflation forecast to 3.6% from 2.7%, signaling a possible rate hike within the year. The dollar strengthened and US Treasury yields moved higher. Separately, while the US and Iran reached a preliminary agreement, restoring full shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is expected to take time and OECD crude inventories have fallen to the lowest level since 1990. The developments reinforce expectations of tighter oil supply and add upward pressure on crude prices.