Asia Earnings Week Ahead: SoftBank, SMIC, Nintendo, NAB, Nissan

Asia’s earnings reports haven’t done much to boost market sentiment yet this season, but this week may bring some bright spots. SoftBank Group, due to report on Friday, is expected to return to profit after a record loss hit it hard the previous quarter. Analyst consensus is also predicting year-over-year profit growth at the world’s biggest coal miner, Coal India, at Chinese chipmaker SMIC, and at Nintendo, Nissan and National Australia Bank. And even after Chinese health officials vowed to “unswervingly” stick to a Covid Zero policy over the weekend, traders may be holding on to hopes of a reopening, with Hong Kong-listed Chinese shares rebounding within minutes of opening lower on Monday.

In terms of commentary and outlook, investors will be combing releases for any information on SoftBank’s listing plan for its chipmaking unit Arm Ltd., its exposure to Chinese assets, and SMIC’s measures to address a shortage of semiconductor-making tools. With heightened tensions between the US and China clouding the outlook on everything from chip export controls to Taiwan, all eyes are on whether a potential meeting between US President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping at a Group of 20 summit later this month will bring some improvement to their relationship.