Three out of five major Asian indices ended higher. China’s Shanghai Composite Index soared by nearly seven and a half per cent, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index surged by 2.3 per cent, and Singapore’s Straits Times Index increased by 0.3 per cent. Meanwhile, Japan’s Nikkei plunged more than five per cent and South Korea’s Kospi declined more than two per cent.

Major European Indices were trading in negative territory. France’s CAC 40 was trading more than one and a half per cent down, London’s FTSE lost 0.7 per cent and Germany’s DAX fell 0.6 per cent when reports last came in.