Market sources: Seven & i Holdings and SoftBank, among others, to begin business cooperation.

China A-share-listed Zhongji Xuchuang's afternoon trading value hit 50 bln yuan; shares up 6%.

Analysis of Bank of Japan account data and FX broker estimates indicates Japan likely intervened in the FX market on Thursday to support the yen, with the operation sized at roughly ¥8.45 trillion (about $52.8bn). During the New York session the yen rose as much as 3.3% vs the dollar, the largest intraday gain since December 2023. Market sources said U.S. authorities carried out a "rate check" around 2:30 a.m. Tokyo time.