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 +0.17%  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 -0.05%  closed 1.1% higher, also posting a weekly advance of 1.4%.

Meanwhile, the yen /zigman2/quotes/210561789/realtime/sampled USDJPY -0.3096%  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 -1.15%  rose 3%, auto maker Mazda Motor Corp. /zigman2/quotes/204777714/delayed JP:7261 -1.05%  climbed 2.7%, industrial-robot manufacturer Fanuc Corp. /zigman2/quotes/202054799/delayed JP:6954 0.00%  advanced 2.5%, camera maker Nikon Corp. /zigman2/quotes/203281219/delayed JP:7731 +0.72%  and electronics giant Toshiba Corp. /zigman2/quotes/205628942/delayed JP:6502 -1.29%  each added 1.4%, and camera maker Olympus Corp. /zigman2/quotes/200860615/delayed JP:7733 +0.97%  tacked on 1%.

Other major Asian markets registered broad gains. In Hong Kong, the benchmark Hang Seng Index /zigman2/quotes/210598030/delayed HK:HSI -0.19%  finished up 0.6%, with British banks HSBC Holdings PLC /zigman2/quotes/202687335/delayed HK:5 -1.98%  and Standard Chartered PLC /zigman2/quotes/202369078/delayed HK:2888 -2.21%  gaining 1.7% and 0.9% separately.

Over on the Chinese mainland, the Shanghai Composite Index /zigman2/quotes/210598127/delayed CN:SHCOMP +1.19%  rose 0.6%. Meanwhile, both Sydney’s S&P/ASX 200 /zigman2/quotes/210598100/delayed AU:XJO +0.58%  and Seoul’s Kospi Composite Index /zigman2/quotes/210598069/delayed KR:180721 -1.23%  settled 0.3% higher.

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Add to watchlist JP:NIK

NIKKEI 225 Index

JP : Nikkei

23,289.36

+39.75 +0.17%

Volume: 0.00

Aug. 14, 2020 3:15p

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TOPIX Index

JP : Tokyo Exchange (TOPIX)

1,623.38

-0.77 -0.05%

Volume: 0.00

Aug. 14, 2020 3:00p

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Japanese Yen

US : Tullett Prebon

106.5950

-0.3310 -0.3096%

Volume: 0.0000

Aug. 14, 2020 4:59p

/zigman2/quotes/203872935/delayed

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Renesas Electronics Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 688.00

-8.00 -1.15%

Volume: 6.85M

Aug. 14, 2020 3:00p

P/E Ratio

42.01

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

¥1143.40 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥36.92M

/zigman2/quotes/204777714/delayed

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Mazda Motor Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 657.00

-7.00 -1.05%

Volume: 4.00M

Aug. 14, 2020 3:00p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

0.00%

Market Cap

¥420.70 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥71.32M

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Fanuc Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 19,440.00

0.00 0.00%

Volume: 884,700

Aug. 14, 2020 3:00p

P/E Ratio

63.03

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

¥3640.83 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥95.87M

/zigman2/quotes/203281219/delayed

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Nikon Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 844.00

+6.00 +0.72%

Volume: 2.59M

Aug. 14, 2020 3:00p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

2.37%

Market Cap

¥300.67 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥34.15M

/zigman2/quotes/205628942/delayed

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Toshiba Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 3,435.00

-45.00 -1.29%

Volume: 967,900

Aug. 14, 2020 3:00p

P/E Ratio

106.37

Dividend Yield

0.58%

Market Cap

¥1573.90 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥26.86M

/zigman2/quotes/200860615/delayed

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Olympus Corp.

JP : Japan: Tokyo

¥ 2,181.00

+21.00 +0.97%

Volume: 3.81M

Aug. 14, 2020 3:00p

P/E Ratio

70.60

Dividend Yield

0.92%

Market Cap

¥2674.02 billion

Rev. per Employee

¥22.14M

/zigman2/quotes/210598030/delayed

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Hang Seng Index

HK : Hong Kong Exchange

25,183.01

-47.66 -0.19%

Volume: 1.43M

Aug. 14, 2020 4:08p

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HSBC Holdings PLC (HK Reg)

HK : Hong Kong

HK$ 34.70

-0.70 -1.98%

Volume: 30.19M

Aug. 14, 2020 4:08p

P/E Ratio

N/A

Dividend Yield

0.00%

Market Cap

HK$735.85 billion

Rev. per Employee

HK$2.88M

/zigman2/quotes/202369078/delayed

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Standard Chartered PLC

HK : Hong Kong

HK$ 42.10

-0.95 -2.21%

Volume: 1.05M

Aug. 14, 2020 4:08p

P/E Ratio

12.22

Dividend Yield

N/A

Market Cap

HK$139.66 billion

Rev. per Employee

HK$2.20M

/zigman2/quotes/210598127/delayed

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Shanghai Composite Index

CN : China: Shanghai

3,360.10

+39.37 +1.19%

Volume: 30.60B

Aug. 14, 2020 3:01p

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AU : S&P ASX

6,126.20

+35.20 +0.58%

Volume: 734,503

Aug. 14, 2020 5:02p

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KOSPI Composite Index

KR : Korea Exchange

2,407.49

-30.04 -1.23%

Volume: 968,124

Aug. 14, 2020 3:33p