Asian stock closed higher as the results of the Scotland's independence referendum and U.S. initial jobless claims supported markets. 55% of Scottish voters said "no" to independence.

The number of initial jobless claims in the U.S. in the week ending September 13 dropped by 36,000 to 280,000.

Japanese stocks were driven by the weaker yen. The Japanese yen hits 6-year low against the U.S. dollar after the results of the Scotland's independence referendum.

The all industry activity index in Japan declined 0.2% in July, missing expectations for a 0.4% gain, after a 0.3% fall in June. June's figure was revised up from a 0.4% drop.

Indexes on the close:

Nikkei 225 16,321.17 +253.60 +1.58%

Hang Seng 24,306.16 +137.44 +0.57%

Shanghai Composite 2,329.45 +13.52 +0.58%