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A couple looks at the LED illuminations before Christmas in Tokyo, Japan
Kiyoshi Ota | Bloomberg | fake images
Asia-Pacific markets began the holiday-shortened Christmas week on a positive note, with investors awaiting the official announcement regarding the merger of Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan.
The presidents of Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi have informed Japan’s Ministry of Industry about the possibility of entering into merger negotiations. Kyodo News reported Monday. They are expected to hold a press conference on Monday afternoon, according to a Google translation of the Japanese report.
Honda and Nissan are expected to hold board meetings on Monday “to discuss the possibility of engaging in large-scale talks toward business integration and then signing a memorandum of understanding.” according to public broadcaster NHK.
The companies, which aim to reach a “final agreement” in June 2025, are considering the possibility of creating a New holding company with a Honda executive at the helmNHK said.
Honda shares rose 2.11%, while Nissan shares fell 0.74%.
Nissan shares saw a record rise last Wednesday, following a media report that the struggling Japanese automaker was looking to merge with Honda.
Japan Nikkei 225 rose 1.06%, while the Topix rose 0.79%.
South Korea Kospi gained 1.25% and the small-cap Kosdaq rose 1.51%.
Australia S&P/ASX 200 it advanced 1.03%.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index rose 0.72%, while mainland China’s CSI 300 was flat.
Last Friday in the United States, all three major indices rose, helped by colder-than-expected inflation data.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.18%, while the S&P 500 added 1.09% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 1.03%.
He personal consumption expenditure price indexThe Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, accelerated to 2.4% in November from 2.3% the previous month, but was still below the Dow Jones estimate of 2.5%.
Excluding food and energy, core PCE rose 2.8% year over year, slightly below expectations of 2.9%.
— CNBC’s Brian Evans, Sean Conlon and Jeff Cox contributed to this report.
