Japanese stocks rose on Friday to their highest closing level in nearly seven years, reacting positively to Scottish voters’ rejection of independence from the U.K., while the yen hit a fresh post-financial-crisis low against the dollar.
The Nikkei 225 in Tokyo rocketed 253.60 points, or 1.6%, to 16,321.17, the highest level since late 2007. The index capped the week with a solid 2.3% gain, rising for a third straight week.
Meanwhile, the yen lost more ground against the U.S. dollar, reaching ¥109.02, compared with ¥108.62 in late U.S. trading Thursday.
In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index regained 137.44 points, or 0.6%, to 24,306.16,
Scotland has decided to stay in the U.K., with 55% of voters rejecting independence in the referendum held Thursday, according to official results released Friday.
Among market movers, semiconductor firm Renesas Electronics Corp rose 3%, auto maker Mazda Motor Corp. climbed 2.7%, industrial-robot manufacturer Fanuc Corp. advanced 2.5%, camera maker Nikon Corp. and electronics giant Toshiba Corp. each added 1.4%, and camera maker Olympus Corp. tacked on 1%.
In other markets;
Shanghai’s CSI 300 index gained 16.55 points, or 0.7%, to 2,425.21
In Korea, the Kospi index recovered 6.08 points, or 0.3%, to 2,053.82
The Taiex index in Taiwan gained 3.42 points to 9,240.45
In Singapore, the Straits Times STI Index gathered 7.76 points, or 0.2%, to 3,305.05
In New Zealand, the NZX 50 picked up 27.16 points, or 0.5%, to 5,181.35
Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 prospered 17.23 points, or 0.3%, to 5,433.06
