Shares in Nissan Motor saw a significant increase of up to 8.4% on Friday following reports that KKR, a U.S. private equity firm, is contemplating an investment in the automaker. The potential investment could involve either equity or debt to bolster Nissan's financial position, according to Bloomberg.
In a related development, Nissan and Honda Motor ended discussions on a possible merger that would have created the third-largest automaker globally by sales. This termination was announced on Thursday.
Nissan reported an operating profit of 31.1 billion yen (approximately $0.2 billion) for the October to December quarter, marking a significant 78% decline from the previous year. Consequently, the company has revised its operating profit forecast downward by 20% to 120 billion yen for the fiscal year ending in March.
The unemployment rate in South Korea eased to 2.9% in January, a decrease from the three-year high of 3.7% recorded in the previous month. According to government data released on Friday, the number of unemployed individuals increased by 11,000, or 1% year-on-year, reaching a total of 1,083,000 people in January 2025.
Overall, South Korea's economically active population grew by 0.5% year-on-year, totaling approximately 28,961,000 people in January.
The MSCI India Index experienced a slight decline of around 0.2% on Thursday, contributing to a 3.1% decrease for the week. This downturn coincides with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Washington, D.C., where he is expected to hold a joint press conference with President Trump later on Thursday.
During the signing of an executive order for U.S. reciprocal tariffs on Thursday, President Trump remarked that India imposes more tariffs than any other nation. In 2024, the U.S. recorded a trade deficit of $45.7 billion with India, as per data from the Census Bureau.
