The British pound rose sharply after early results from the Scottish independence vote reinforced expectations that Scotland would remain in the United Kingdom.
The Sterling (GBP) was up 0.6 percent at $1.6496 after reaching a high of $1.6525, a marked turnaround from the 10-month low of $1.6051 touched just last week and taking down the yen to 180.66, its lowest since late 2008.
With 26 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities declared, the Better Together camp backed by Prime Minister David Cameron and the main U.K. parties had garnered 54 percent of the vote, while the “yes” campaign led by Scottish National Party leader Alex Salmond had 46 percent.
The euro edged down to $1.2907 after refreshing a 14-month low on Thursday, when it fell as the Alibaba Group priced its initial public offering at $68 a share, the top end of the expected range, raising $21.8 billion on Thursday, in the latest sign of strong investor appetite for the Chinese e-commerce juggernaut.
At that price, the IPO, one of the largest-ever, would give Alibaba a market valuation of $167.6 billion, surpassing American corporate icons from Walt Disney Co to Boeing Co. The offering also vaults it atop U.S. e-commerce rivals like Amazon and gives it more financial firepower to expand in the United States and other markets.