Asia markets trade higher; Sony Financial’s blockbuster listing offsets Nikkei slide

September 29, 2025 (MLN): Asia market equities traded mostly higher on Monday as investors brushed aside the latest tariff concerns, while shares in Sony Financial Group skyrocketed on their first day of trading following a spin-off from parent Sony Group.

Japan’s benchmark indices struggled, with the Nikkei 225 slipping 0.84% and the Topix dropping 1.57%, retreating from Friday’s record highs. In contrast, Sony Financial Group delivered a standout performance, soaring 36% above its reference price of 150 yen per share.

The debut valued the newly independent entity at about 1 trillion yen (over $6.7 billion).

Sony Group said the spin-off will allow its financial arm comprising Sony Life Insurance, Sony Assurance, and Sony Bank to access growth capital independently, while still benefiting from the broader Sony ecosystem.

The parent company also highlighted competing investment needs in entertainment and semiconductors as a reason to let the unit operate on its own.

Elsewhere in the region, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 advanced 0.71% ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia’s two-day policy meeting.

The central bank is widely expected to keep its cash rate steady at 3.6%, though economists at Commonwealth Bank of Australia noted mounting pressures from August’s CPI and stronger activity data, while also pointing to softening employment and wage trends.

South Korea’s Kospi climbed 1.25% after Friday’s sharp drop on trade-related uncertainty, and the Kosdaq gained 1.29%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 1.19% at the open, with the Hang Seng Tech Index up 1.5%, while China’s CSI 300 remained flat.

On Wall Street Friday, all three major U.S. indexes posted gains after fresh inflation data, snapping a three-day losing streak.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 299.97 points, or 0.65%, to close at 46,247.29. The S&P 500 rose 0.59% to 6,643.70, and the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.44% to 22,484.07.

Despite the rebound, the indexes ended the week in negative territory, marking the first weekly decline in four weeks for both the Nasdaq and S&P 500.

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