Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is trading 4.04% up at $26.54 after Reuters reported SMBC is in advanced talks to increase its VPBank stake from 15% to approximately 20%. - Valuation disagreements remain over the potential expansion into Vietnam. - Japanese bank stocks also benefited from elevated bond yields and rate-hike expectations. - The move reverses the stock’s 1.32% decline on September 24. No earnings release or analyst action was identified for September 25.