Couple looks at light-emitting diode illuminations ahead of Christmas in Tokyo, Japan
- Investors will be looking out for any official announcement of a merger between Japanese automakers Honda Motor and Nissan Motor.
- Sentiment in Asia was boosted following a cooler-than-expected inflation reading that helped lift U.S. markets Friday.
Asia-Pacific markets started the holiday-shortened Christmas week on a positive note, with investors awaiting the official announcement related to the merger of Japanese automakers Honda and Nissan.
The companies, which aim to reach a "final agreement" in June 2025, are considering setting up a new holding company by summer of 2026 with a Honda executive leading it, NHK said.
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WATCH HEREThe presidents of Honda, Nissan and Mitsubishi have informed Japan's industry ministry about entering into merger talks, Kyodo News reported Monday. They are expected to hold a press conference Monday afternoon, according to a Google translation of the report in Japanese.
Honda and Nissan are expected to hold board meetings Monday "to discuss entering into full-scale discussions toward a business integration, and then to sign a memorandum of understanding," according to public broadcaster NHK.
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SIGN UP Shares of Honda were 3.82% up, while Nissan shares saw a smaller gain of 1.58%.
Nissan shares saw a record surge last Wednesday, following a media report that the struggling Japanese automaker was looking to merge with Honda.
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Cooler-than-expected U.S. inflation data on Friday helped boost the broader Asia market.
Japan's Nikkei 225 climbed 1.19% to 39,161.34, while the Topix rose 0.92% to 2,726.74.
South Korea's Kospi gained 1.57% and closed at 2,442.01, and the small-cap Kosdaq rose 1.64% and finished at 679.24.
Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.67% to close at 8,201.6.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.74% in its final hour, while mainland China's CSI 300 gained 0.15% to end at 3,933.57
On Friday in the U.S., all three major indexes climbed. 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%.
The personal consumption expenditures price index, the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, accelerated to 2.4% in November from 2.3% the previous month, but was still lower than the 2.5% estimate from Dow Jones.
Excluding food and energy, core PCE rose 2.8% from a year ago, slightly below expectations of 2.9%.
— CNBC's Brian Evans, Sean Conlon and Jeff Cox contributed to this report.
