Sony Financial Group shares jump 15% in trading debut as Asia markets mostly rise
Sony Financial Group shares soared 36% in Tokyo debut before paring gains to close 15% higher.
Fransebas
The logo of Japanese entertainment and electronics giant Sony is displayed at the company's headquarters in Tokyo on May 14, 2025.
Kazuhiro Nogi | Afp | Getty Images
Shares in Sony Financial Group rose closed 15.86% higher during its market debut Monday after parent company Sony Group spun off the unit, while Asia markets traded mostly higher as investors looked past the latest tariff developments.
Sony Financial Group stock was assigned a reference price of 150 Japanese yen per share, valuing the company at around 1 trillion yen (over $6.7 billion). Sony said the separation allows the financial arm, which includes Sony Life Insurance, Sony Assurance and Sony Bank, to raise its own growth capital while maintaining brand ties with the wider Sony ecosystem, according to a filing translated by Google.
The parent company cited competing demands for investment in entertainment and semiconductors as a key reason for the financial unit to operate independently.
Japan broader markets fell, with the Nikkei 225 down 0.69% to end the trading day at 45,043.75, and the Topix declining 1.74% to 3,131.57, after hitting a record high Friday.
Meanwhile, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.85% to close at 8,862.80.
The Reserve Bank of Australia's two-day policy meeting was underway, where it is expected to hold its cash rate steady at 3.6%, according to a Reuters poll.
"The RBA are likely to find themselves in a tougher position than recent meetings. There is real tension building in the data flow," the Commonwealth Bank of Australia wrote in a note, citing how the country's August CPI indicates "material upside risks to Q3 inflation" as well as a a cyclical upswing in the activity data. However, CBA's economists also pointed to signs of softer employment and moderating wages growth.
South Korea's Kospi added 1.33% to close at 3,431.21, recovering from its steep fall Friday on uncertainty over trade talks with Washington. The small-cap Kosdaq closed higher at 846.71.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1.89% to 26,622.88, while mainland's CSI 300 was up 1.54% to 4,620.05.
On Friday stateside, the three major averages climbed following the release of crucial U.S. inflation data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 299.97 points, or 0.65%, to close at 46,247.29. The S&P 500 added 0.59% to close at 6,643.70, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.44% to settle at 22,484.07.
Friday's rally snapped a three-day losing streak for the major indexes, but still ended the week down. The Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 slid 0.7% and 0.3%, marking each index's first losing week in four. The Dow shed 0.2%.
—CNBC's Pia Singh and Sean Conlon contributed to this report.
