Japan's finance minister Katayama said Tokyo will continue efforts to achieve strong economic growth while maintaining fiscal sustainability.

South Korean media report Samsung's memory division has allocated roughly 70% of its capacity through 2031 to long-term agreements (LTAs), with major clients including NVIDIA, Microsoft and Google. An AI-driven surge in HBM demand is crowding out traditional DRAM supply and intensifying shortages; even large LTA customers reportedly cannot secure their full contracted volumes, sending spot HBM prices sharply higher.

Australia July seasonally adjusted building approvals MoM -3.6% (consensus -3.9%), prior +7.2%.