European stock markets were mixed Monday despite hefty gains earlier in Asia as traders took profits on gains built up over the Christmas and New Year's holidays. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 13.67 points, or 0.3 percent, higher at 4,575.46, while Germany's DAX rose 13.46 points, or 0.3 percent, to 4,986.53. France's CAC-40 was down 6.55 points, or 0.2 percent, at 3,343.14. The relatively muted opening in Europe stood in marked contrast to the gains witnessed in Asia earlier, where investors appeared to be encouraged by mounting expectations of a massive $755 billion fiscal stimulus from the incoming Obama administration in the U.S. Most Asian markets were closed last Friday, when European and U.S. markets started the year strongly, so much of Monday's gains in Asia were merely a case of catching up. In a shortened half-day session, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock average gained 183.56 points, or 2.1 percent, to 9,043.12, its first finish above the 9,000-point line since Nov. 10. Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 3.5 percent to 15,563.31 and Shanghai's key index gained 3.3 percent to 1,880.72. Singapore's benchmark jumped 4.5 percent, with stock measures in Taiwan, India, South Korea, Malaysia and Thailand higher as well. Stock markets around the world have enjoyed a strong rally over the last month or so, in particular since Christmas Eve, though the moves have been sentiment-driven as opposed to being based on any fundamental change in the economic or financial outlook. Investors know that they face a difficult first half of the year at least, as company earnings and the economic dataflow remain downbeat. However, some analysts reckon that the recent resilience in the markets could be a sign that many investors have already started positioning for a possible turnaround in the world economy and equities prices later in the year. "We are still trading more on sentiment than fundamentals, and the sentiment is that fiscal stimulus will allow the economy to recover," said Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist for SJS Markets in Hong Kong. "The market is relatively cheap, and with investors hoping for a recovery in the global economy in the second half, it makes sense to buy now before that happens," he added. The latest government to announce plans to boost growth was China. Premier Wen Jiabao said over the weekend that Beijing would enact new measures to help the steel and auto industries. That comes on top of a massive stimulus package announced in November. The markets will likely face tougher hurdles later in the week when a raft of economic news, particularly Friday's U.S. non-farm payrolls data for December, is released. In addition, the Bank of England is poised to cut borrowing costs further on Thursday, with most commentators predicting at least a half percentage point cut in the benchmark rate from the current 2 percent. "As ever it will take a while for markets to grind into gear, with grind being the operative word in the current environment," said Marc Ostwald, a strategist at Monument Securities. Wall Street was expected to give back some of last week's gains at the opening bell. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped nearly 3 percent last Friday, closing above 9,000 for the first time in two months as investors shrugged off a weaker-than-expected report on manufacturing. Dow futures were down 32 points, or 0.4 percent, at 8,926 and S&P 500 futures were off 3.4 points, or 0.4 percent, at 922.00. Crude oil price rose in Asia trade, with light, sweet crude for February delivery up 42 cents at $46.76. The contract soared last week to settle Friday at $46.34, up $1.74, amid spiraling violence in Gaza and expectations of OPEC productions cuts.

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