PlayStation-maker Sony raised its annual profit forecasts on Thursday, citing strong performance in its key gaming business and a smaller-than-expected negative impact of US trade tariffs.The Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate said “user engagement continued its strong momentum” in the video game sector.Its shares surged more than six percent in Tokyo after the announcement.Monthly active users in June and total gameplay hours on PlayStation consoles in the April-June quarter both increased six percent year-on-year, it said.It added that “the situation surrounding the additional US tariffs is still fluid, and we intend to continue to monitor it and take action to minimise its impact”.”The impact of the additional US tariffs on operating income is estimated to be approximately 70 billion yen ($470 million), a decrease of 30 billion yen from the previous forecast.”The company hiked its net profit forecast for the current 2025-26 financial year to 970 billion yen ($6.6 billion), up from the previous estimate of 930 billion yen.But even the higher forecast would not top the record net profit of 1.1 trillion yen that Sony logged in the previous financial year.Atul Goyal, an equity analyst at Jefferies, said ahead of the earnings release that the massively anticipated global release of the game “Grand Theft Auto VI” in May 2026 “could lead to peak game profits” for Sony.GTA VI, which will be released on the PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s XBox, will be set in Miami-like Vice City and features a playable female protagonist for the first time.The PlayStation 5, which launched in 2020, is entering a “late” stage of the usual lifecycle for a console, Goyal said.”Sony’s outlook hinges on navigating tariff headwinds near-term, leveraging GTA6’s blockbuster potential… and cyclical console risks,” he said.”A sensors spin-off could transform valuation, while music provides steady growth and pictures provides stability.”Music streaming is an important business pillar for Sony, which has an impressive back catalogue and a current roster that includes artists such as Beyonce and Lil Nas X.The Japanese giant, which saw net profit jump 23 percent on-year in this year’s April-June quarter, also raised its operating profit forecast on Thursday.Sony last month said it had bought a strategic 2.5 percent stake in Japanese game franchise giant Bandai Namco, which owns “Gundam” and arcade classic “Pac-Man”, with a view to growing its anime business.With the 68 billion yen transaction, the companies plan “to create new and emotionally moving experiences for fans”, they said in a joint statement.

Asian equities rose Thursday, with big-name chip firms making big gains after Donald Trump said those investing in the United States would be exempted from a threatened 100-percent tariff on semiconductors.The advances built on a strong lead from Wall Street and extended the previous day’s rally fuelled by hopes the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month.A day before sweeping tariffs were due to come into effect on dozens of countries, the president said: “we’re going to be putting a very large tariff on chips and semiconductors”.He added that the level would be “100 percent” but did not offer a timetable.However, he said “the good news for companies like Apple is, if you’re building in the United States, or have committed to build… in the United States, there will be no charge”.Stock gains were led by Taiwan’s giant TSMC, which surged almost five percent in early trade, with the island’s National Development Council chief Liu Chin-ching saying the firm was in the clear.”Because Taiwan’s main exporter is TSMC, which has factories in the United States, TSMC is exempt,” he told a briefing in parliament.TSMC, which is ramping up manufacturing in Arizona, has pledged to invest as much as $165 billion in the United States, which the firm said in March was the “largest single foreign direct investment in US history”.Seoul-listed Samsung, which is also pumping billions into the world’s number one economy, rose more than two percent while South Korean rival SK hynix was also up.Apple-linked firms were also helped after the US giant said it will invest an additional $100 billion in the United States, taking its total pledge to $600 billion over the next four years.Foxconn and Pegatron both rose in Taipei.However, Tokyo Electron and Renesas both retreated in Japanese trade.- Tariff talks -“To some degree this outcome would be something of a relief,” said Morgan Stanley analysts.”Yes, 100 percent tariffs are unpalatable but if companies are given time to restore them, the real tax is just the higher cost of building chips in the United States.”Trump’s remarks came hours before his wide-ranging “reciprocal” tariffs are set to kick in against trading partners, and after he doubled his levy on India to 50 percent over its purchase of Russian oil.Fifty percent tolls on Brazilian goods came into place Wednesday, with significant exemptions, after Trump targeted Latin America’s biggest economy over its prosecution of former president Jair Bolsonaro.Investors are keeping tabs on talks between the White House and New Delhi, as well as other countries including Switzerland, which was this week hammered with a 39 percent toll.Asian markets extended their recent run-up and have regained much of last week’s losses sparked by the president’s tariff announcements and weak US jobs data.Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Seoul and Wellington were all in the green, with Taipei leading the way thanks to the surge in TSMC.The gains followed a strong day on Wall Street, where Apple jumped more than five percent and Amazon piled on four percent.Traders had already been on a buying streak as they grew optimistic that the Fed will cut rates after data last week showing US jobs creation cratered in May, June and July, signalling the economy was weakening. US futures rose Thursday.Oil prices rose after Trump threatened penalties on other countries that “directly or indirectly” import Russian oil, after imposing his extra toll on India.Still, traders are keeping tabs on developments regarding Moscow and its war in Ukraine after the US president said he could meet with Vladimir Putin “very soon” following what he called highly productive talks between his special envoy and the Russian leader.- Key figures at around 0230 GMT -Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.8 percent at 41,114.68 (break)Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: UP 0.3 percent at 24,985.53Shanghai – Composite: UP 0.1 percent at 3,636.23Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1657 from $1.1659 on WednesdayPound/dollar: DOWN at $1.3355 from $1.3358Dollar/yen: UP at 147.50 yen from 147.38 yenEuro/pound: UP at 87.29 pence from 87.23 penceWest Texas Intermediate: UP 0.9 percent at $64.93 per barrelBrent North Sea Crude: UP 0.9 percent at $67.47 per barrelNew York – Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 44,193.12 (close)London – FTSE 100: UP 0.2 percent at 9,164.31 (close) 

Apple will invest an additional $100 billion in the United States, taking its total pledge to $600 billion over the next four years, US President Donald Trump said Wednesday.Trump announced the increased commitment at the White House alongside the tech giant’s CEO Tim Cook, calling it “the largest investment Apple has made in America.” “Apple will massively increase spending on its domestic supply chain,” Trump added, highlighting a new production facility for the glass used to make iPhone screens in Kentucky.In February, Apple said it would spend more than $500 billion in the United States and hire 20,000 people, with Trump quickly taking credit for the decision. It builds on plans announced in 2021, when the company founded by Steve Jobs said it would invest $430 billion in the country and add 20,000 jobs over the next five years.”This year alone, American manufacturers are on track to make 19 billion chips for Apple in 24 factories across 12 different states,” Cook said in the Oval Office.Trump, who has pushed US companies to shift manufacturing home by slapping tariffs on trading partners, claimed that his administration was to thank for the investment.”This is a significant step toward the ultimate goal of… ensuring that iPhones sold in the United States of America also are made in America,” Trump said. Cook later clarified that, while many iPhone components will be manufactured in the United States, the complete assembly of iPhones will still be conducted overseas.”If you look at the bulk of it, we’re doing a lot of the semiconductors here, we’re doing the glass here, we’re doing the Face ID module here… and we’re doing these for products sold elsewhere in the world,” Cook said.- ‘They’re coming home’ -Trump has repeatedly said he plans to impose a “100 percent” tariff on imported semiconductors, a major export of Taiwan, South Korea, China and Japan. “We’re going to be putting a very large tariff on chips and semiconductors,” he told reporters Wednesday at the White House.Taiwanese giant TSMC — the world’s largest contract maker of chips, which counts Nvidia and Apple among its clients — would be “exempt” from those tariffs as it has factories in the United States, Taipei said Thursday. While he did not offer a timetable for enactment of the new tech levies, on Tuesday he said fresh tariffs on imported pharmaceuticals and semiconductors and chips could be unveiled within the coming week.The US is “going to be very rich and it’s companies like Apple, they’re coming home,” Trump said.Trump specified further that “Apple will help develop and manufacture semiconductors and semiconductor equipment in Texas, Utah, Arizona and New York.” He noted that if tech companies commit to manufacturing their wares in the US, “there will be no charge.”Apple reported a quarterly profit of $23.4 billion in late July, topping forecasts despite facing higher costs due to Trump’s sweeping levies.The tariffs are essentially a tax paid by companies importing goods to the United States. This means Apple is on the hook for tariffs on iPhones and other products or components it brings into the country from abroad.