Major Asian stock markets closed mixed today. South Korea’s Kospi index plunged six per cent as investors continued selling semiconductor shares. Earlier in the session, the Korea Exchange halted trading for 20 minutes after activating a circuit breaker for the second consecutive day. This marks the eighth circuit breaker activation by the exchange so far this year.
Taiwan’s Taiex shed almost 3.8 per cent, and Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell one and a half per cent. In contrast, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index climbed nearly two per cent, Singapore’s Strait Times index gained over 1.7 per cent, and China’s Shanghai Composite rose 0.4 per cent.
Major European indices were displayed mixed trend today. Germany’s DAX as well as London’s FTSE 100 increased by 0.3 per cent, while France’s CAC 40 dipped nearly half a per cent, when reports last came in.