Asian markets ended mixed today. So China’s Shanghai Composite index rose 0.8 percent; Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 0.2 percent and Singapore’s Straits Times index inched up 0.3 percent. But Japan’s Nikkei-225 index fell 0.4 percent and South Korea’s Kospi index dropped 0.8 percent.

In economic news, growth in China’s services industry slowed for the second straight month in November, an official survey showed. The official non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index released today showed that it fell to 53.4 from 53.9 in October.

Growth in China’s manufacturing sector stalled for the first time in over two years in November. The official Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 50.0 in November, from 50.2 in October

In Europe, key indices, London’s FTSE-100 had slipped 0.6 percent; France’s CAC-40 had shed 0.5 percent and Germany’s DAX had lost 0.7 percent, in intra-day trade.