Asian markets again ended mixed, on Thursday. So Japan's Nikkei 225 index fell 0.8%; China's Shanghai Composite index dropped 1%; and South Korea's Kospi index declined 0.1%. But Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 0.5%; and Singapore's Straits Times index inched up 0.1%.European markets fell, ahead of a bond auction by France and amid ongoing euro-zone debt jitters. So the UK's FTSE-100, France's CAC-40, and Germany's DAX fell between 0.3% and 0.7%, in intra-day trade, today. Meanwhile, France plans to raise up to 8 billion euros in long-term debt, today. And a key litmus test for investor confidence is next week's debt sales by Spain and Italy, the two countries most exposed to the crisis. Yesterday's 10-year German Bunds auction had drawn a subdued demand of bids amounting to 1.3 times the amount offered.