Asian markets end on negative note; European indices trading mixed

Most Asian stock market indices ended on a negative note today. South Korea’s Kospi plunged 4.9 per cent, dragged by chip stocks. The index had fallen by more than 8 per cent earlier in the session, prompting the Korea Exchange to activate a circuit breaker and halt trading for 20 minutes. Taiwan’s Taiex shed 2.3 per cent, Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell over 2.1 per cent, China’s Shanghai Composite dropped more than 1.2 per cent, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng dipped half a per cent. In contrast, Singapore’s Strait Times added nearly 1.6 per cent. Major European indices were trading on a mixed note today. London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.3 per cent, France’s CAC 40 gained nearly 0.3 per cent, while Germany’s DAX was trading more than half a per cent down, when reports last came in.