Key Asian markets were mixed, today, as U.S. politicians prepared for last-minute talks to avoid a fiscal crunch of spending cuts and tax hikes that could drag down the world economy. China's Shanghai Composite index jumped 1.6 percent, boosted by upbeat Chinese manufacturing data from HSBC. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was flat, and Singapore's Straits Times index declined 0.8 percent. Stock markets in Japan and South Korea were closed for a holiday. For the whole of 2012, Japan's Nikkei posted its best yearly gain since 2005, surging 23 percent; Hong Kong's market also rose 23 percent for the year; China's market gained just 1.3 percent for the year. Meanwhile, HSBC today said its China manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index rose to a final reading of 51.5 in December 2012, an upward revision from the preliminary 50.9 result, and an improvement from November's PMI of 50.5. The result was the best for the data set since May 2011, thanks to the faster new business flows and the end of destocking.In Europe, the UK's FTSE-100 was down 0.4 percent, but France's CAC-40 was up 0.4 percent in intra-day trade, today. Germany's stock market was closed. Still, world stocks are set to end the year up 15 percent.