Asian stock markets today traded mixed. Japan's Nikkei-225 gained 0.4 percent and Singapore's Straits Times index rose marginally by 0.1 percent. On the other hand, Hong Kong's Hang Seng index plunged 1.8 percent, and South Korea's Kospi and China's Shanghai Composite index, both slipped 0.3 percent.
   
European Markets were down in intra-day trade. London's FTSE-100 fell 0.9 percent, France's CAC-40 declined 1.4 percent and Germany's DAX was down 1.5 percent when reports last came in.