ASIA MARKETS: Nikkei Closes At Almost Seven-year High After Scotland Vote

By Laura He, MarketWatch

HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- 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.

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.

The Nikkei Average ended 1.6% higher at 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. The broader Topix index closed 1.1% higher, also posting a weekly advance of 1.4%.

Meanwhile, the yen (USDJPY) lost more ground against the dollar, reaching Yen109.02, compared with Yen108.62 in late U.S. trading Thursday. Earlier, the yen tapped Yen109.46, a fresh six-year low.

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%.

Other major Asian markets registered broad gains. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index finished up 0.6%, with British banks HSBC Holdings PLC and Standard Chartered PLC gaining 1.7% and 0.9% separately.

Over on the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.6%. Meanwhile, both Sydney's S&P/ASX 200 and Seoul's Kospi Composite Index settled 0.3% higher.

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