Asian markets ended higher today, as investors remained focused on the global vaccination program and shook off worries about a hedge fund default in the US that hit international banking stocks overnight. So, Japan's Nikkei-225 index gained 0.2 percent; China's Shanghai Composite index rose 0.6 percent; Hong Kong's Hang Seng index climbed 0.8 percent; South Korea's Kospi index advanced 1.1 percent and Singapore's Straits Times index added 0.7 percent.

In economic news, Japan's retail sales declined 1.5 percent in February from a year earlier, a preliminary report released today by the country's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.

In Europe, stocks inched toward all-time highs today on hopes of a strong economic recovery, while investors looked past concerns over a US hedge fund default that hit banking stocks a day earlier. So London's FTSE-100 had gained 0.3 percent; France's CAC-40 had climbed 0.6 percent; while Germany's DAX had also advanced 0.6 percent to trade at a new record high, in intra-day trade.