[By NBC-1TV H. J Yook]City Index Asia - Stock markets in Asia enjoyed mixed success on Friday (January 25th), with the Nikkei yet again capitalising on a weak yen to make up more ground, while South Korea's Kospi continued a three-session losing streak.

The Nikkei shot up by 2.9 per cent to 10,926.65 points, its best closing high of the year so far, with exporters still taking advantage of the continuing weakness of the yen against the dollar, with car firms spearheading most of the gains in the market.

Shares in Toyota, Honda, and Suzuki all rose by 2.24, 1.09 and 4.03 per cent respectively.

But the weakness of the yen meant there was no such joy in Seoul, as the Kospi fell by 0.9 per cent, with exporters showing signs of struggle.

Hyundai Motors fell by 3.37 per cent as investors continue to worry about disappointing earnings results within Korea's auto industry.

Samsung also failed to win the confidence of many investors, falling by 2.48 per cent, despite a 76 per cent rise in profit to record an all-time high of 7.04 trillion won, which still fell short of the 7.3 trillion won that was being forecast by many analysts.