Berliner Boersenzeitung - European stocks attempt pre-Christmas rebound

"We really don't have much volume in markets as traders are away for holidays," AvaTrade analyst Naeem Aslam told AFP.

"Markets are grinding higher as some traders are optimistic about valuations which seem to them somewhat attractive."

Heading into the afternoon, London rose 0.5 percent, while Frankfurt and Paris each won 0.4 percent in value.

"Overall I think it's going to be pretty subdued trading, given the lack of significant data to react to," noted analyst Susannah Streeter at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown.

Asian indices however fell on lingering concern over a possible global recession caused by moves to fight inflation from top central banks.

Equities took a turn south last week after monetary policymakers around the world signalled that while price rises appeared to be stabilising, more work would be needed to get them under control.

All three main indexes on Wall Street ended sharply lower Friday after the Federal Reserve warned it would continue tightening monetary policy into 2023.

That was followed by similar warnings from the European Central Bank and Bank of England, while data suggested economies were feeling the pinch, dealing a blow to sentiment heading into the Christmas break.

"With no shortage of economic headwinds, investors struggle to find something cheerful about this holiday week after the two most dominant central banks cast a pall over the proceedings," said SPI Asset Management's Stephen Innes.

The US sell-off fed through to Asia, where Tokyo shed more than one percent, while Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Manila, Bangkok, Jakarta and Wellington were in negative territory, but Singapore and Mumbai edged up.

Adding to the downbeat mood was a spike in Covid-19 cases in China following the country's reopening after almost three years of strict containment measures.

While the move is expected to boost the world's number two economy, there is a worry that businesses and China's health system will be hit in the near term.

Still, Beijing flagged a number of measures aimed at kickstarting growth next year, including support for the beleaguered property sector.

An expected pick-up in Chinese demand helped propel oil prices moderately higher.

- Key figures around 1200 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 7,365.99 points

Frankfurt - DAX: UP 0.4 percent at 13,945.14

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.4 percent at 6,481.03

EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.3 percent at 3,815.94

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 1.1 percent at 27,237.64 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: DOWN 0.5 percent at 19,352.81 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: DOWN 1.9 percent at 3,107.11 (close)

New York - Dow: DOWN 0.9 percent at 32,920.46 (close)

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0607 from $1.0586 on Friday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2189 from $1.2148

Euro/pound: DOWN at 87.02 pence from 87.14 pence

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 136.24 yen from 136.60 yen

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.6 percent at $74.74 per barrel

Brent North Sea crude: UP 0.7 percent at $79.62 per barrel

(S.G.Stein--BBZ)