Asian markets show mixed trends, European markets  trading in positive territory –

Major Asian markets ended mixed today as investors monitored evolving situation in West Asia. South Korea’s Kospi index rose almost one and half per cent, crossing the 3,000 mark for the first time since January 2022. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained over 1.2 per cent. Conversely, Singapore’s Strait Times index as well as Japan’s Nikkei 225 index, both declined over 0.2 per cent each. China’s Shanghai Composite index ended nearly flat. Meanwhile, China kept benchmark lending rates unchanged, after Beijing introduced sweeping monetary easing measures a month earlier to support the economy. The People’s Bank of China held the 1-year loan prime rate (LPR) at 3 per cent and 5-year LPR at 3.5 per cent.
Major European indices were trading in positive territory in intra-day trade. Germany’s DAX rose more than 1.2 per cent, France’s CAC added over 0.7 per cent, and London’s FTSE 100 was trading over 0.4 per cent up, when reports last came in.