Nikkei closes at almost seven-year high after Scotland vote

By Laura He, MarketWatch

Reuters

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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.

The Nikkei Average /zigman2/quotes/210597971/delayed JP:NIK +0.94%  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 /zigman2/quotes/210598092/delayed JP:180460 +0.96%  closed 1.1% higher, also posting a weekly advance of 1.4%.

Meanwhile, the yen /zigman2/quotes/210561789/realtime/sampled USDJPY -0.9014%  lost more ground against the dollar, reaching ¥109.02, compared with ¥108.62 in late U.S. trading Thursday. Earlier, the yen tapped ¥109.46, a fresh six-year low.

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. /zigman2/quotes/203872935/delayed JP:6723 +3.73%  rose 3%, auto maker Mazda Motor Corp. /zigman2/quotes/204777714/delayed JP:7261 +2.48%  climbed 2.7%, industrial-robot manufacturer Fanuc Corp. /zigman2/quotes/202054799/delayed JP:6954 +0.02%  advanced 2.5%, camera maker Nikon Corp. /zigman2/quotes/203281219/delayed JP:7731 +2.21%  and electronics giant Toshiba Corp. /zigman2/quotes/205628942/delayed JP:6502 +2.07%  each added 1.4%, and camera maker Olympus Corp. /zigman2/quotes/200860615/delayed JP:7733 +1.88%  tacked on 1%.

Other major Asian markets registered broad gains. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index /zigman2/quotes/210598030/delayed HK:HSI +0.20%  finished up 0.6%, with British banks HSBC Holdings PLC /zigman2/quotes/202687335/delayed HK:5 -0.51%  and Standard Chartered PLC /zigman2/quotes/202369078/delayed HK:2888 -0.70%  gaining 1.7% and 0.9% separately.

Over on the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index /zigman2/quotes/210598127/delayed CN:SHCOMP -0.25%  rose 0.6%. Meanwhile, both Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 /zigman2/quotes/210598100/delayed AU:XJO +0.99%  and Seoul’s Kospi Composite Index /zigman2/quotes/210598069/delayed KR:180721 +0.21%  settled 0.3% higher.

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Add to watchlist JP:NIK

NIKKEI 225 Index

JP : Nikkei

26,911.20

+251.45 +0.94%

Volume: 0.00

May 18, 2022 3:15p

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TOPIX Index

JP : Tokyo Exchange (TOPIX)

1,884.69

+17.98 +0.96%

Volume: 0.00

May 18, 2022 3:00p

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Japanese Yen

US : Tullett Prebon

128.1890

-1.1660 -0.9014%

Volume: 0.0000

May 18, 2022 4:30p

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Renesas Electronics Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 1,447.00

+52.00 +3.73%

Volume: 16.65M

May 18, 2022 3:00p

P/E Ratio

16.21

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

¥2721.12 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥54.26M

/zigman2/quotes/204777714/delayed

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Mazda Motor Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 1,114.00

+27.00 +2.48%

Volume: 8.02M

May 18, 2022 3:00p

P/E Ratio

9.23

Dividend Yield

3.14%

Market Cap

¥684.66 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥61.97M

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Fanuc Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 20,170.00

+5.00 +0.02%

Volume: 559,500

May 18, 2022 3:00p

P/E Ratio

24.92

Dividend Yield

2.41%

Market Cap

¥3868.12 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥88.78M

/zigman2/quotes/203281219/delayed

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Nikon Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 1,481.00

+32.00 +2.21%

Volume: 2.63M

May 18, 2022 3:00p

P/E Ratio

19.56

Dividend Yield

2.70%

Market Cap

¥532.07 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥27.32M

/zigman2/quotes/205628942/delayed

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Toshiba Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 5,573.00

+113.00 +2.07%

Volume: 1.41M

May 18, 2022 3:00p

P/E Ratio

13.39

Dividend Yield

5.20%

Market Cap

¥2362.31 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥28.22M

/zigman2/quotes/200860615/delayed

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Olympus Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 2,710.00

+50.00 +1.88%

Volume: 4.45M

May 18, 2022 3:00p

P/E Ratio

30.05

Dividend Yield

0.59%

Market Cap

¥3419.82 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥27.45M

/zigman2/quotes/210598030/delayed

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Hang Seng Index

HK : Hong Kong Exchange

20,644.28

+41.76 +0.20%

Volume: 1.95M

May 18, 2022 4:08p

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HSBC Holdings PLC (HK Reg)

HK : Hong Kong

$ 48.35

-0.25 -0.51%

Volume: 17.17M

May 18, 2022 4:08p

P/E Ratio

11.02

Dividend Yield

4.06%

Market Cap

$989.03 billion

Rev. per Employee

$2.13M

/zigman2/quotes/202369078/delayed

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Standard Chartered PLC

HK : Hong Kong

$ 57.00

-0.40 -0.70%

Volume: 715,226

May 18, 2022 4:08p

P/E Ratio

12.22

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

$172.01 billion

Rev. per Employee

$1.79M

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Shanghai Composite Index

CN : China: Shanghai

3,085.98

-7.72 -0.25%

Volume: 31.50B

May 18, 2022 3:00p

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AU : S&P ASX

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+70.20 +0.99%

Volume: 658,070

May 18, 2022 5:54p

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KOSPI Composite Index

KR : Korea Exchange

2,625.98

+5.54 +0.21%

Volume: 870,268

May 18, 2022 3:30p