Asian stock markets today closed mixed. Japan's Nikkei-225 appreciated 0.6 percent and China's Shanghai Composite index added 0.1 percent. On the other hand, South Korea's Kospi declined 0.7 percent and Singapore's Straits Times index slipped 0.1 percent.  Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended flat.

European stocks were also down in intra-day trade. France's CAC-40 plunged 0.9 percent, London's FTSE-100 fell 0.7 percent and Germany's DAX was trading half a percent down when reports last came in.