In the Asian market, most of the shares ended lower today as investors turned their attention to upcoming earnings reports and other economic indicators. South Korea's Kospi index declined one and a half per cent while Japan's Nikkei-225 shed 1.2 per cent. Singapore's Straits Times index fell 0.6 per cent. However, Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.3 percent while China's Shanghai Composite index closed flat.
     
European Markets were trading in positive territory in intra-day trade. London's FTSE-100 gained 0.7 per cent while Germany's DAX rose 0.3 per cent and France's CAC-40 advanced 0.2 percent.