European equities markets saw gains Monday as the European Commission predicted that the worst of the economic crisis could be over in the region even though a separate report from the Commission warned that unemployment could remain high and could limit recovery.
In London the FTSE 100 was 1.25 percent higher to 4,294.03 while the FTSE 250 added 1.23 percent to 7,477.21 on the session.
Travel-related shares had trouble as British Airways (LSE: BAY; NYSE: BAB) was down 1.89 percent and travel agent Thomas Cook Group (LSE: TCG) dropped 1.89 percent.
The FTSE Eurofirst 300 was up 1.72 percent to 859.1 while the IBEX added 1.64 percent to 9,845.7, the CAC-40 was 2.04 percent higher to 3,193.68 and the Dax gained 2.27 percent to 4,855.09.
Asian markets were mixed.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 was 0.95 percent lower to 8,783.47 and the Topix index fell 1.24 percent to 915.32, but the Mothers market added 0.75 percent to 439.08.
Other decliners in the region included the Straits Times Index, which fell 0.03 percent to 2,317.17 while the Hang Seng was down 0.39 percent to 18,528.51.
In Australia, the S&P/ASX200 and the Sydney Ordinaries were each 0.43 percent lower, to 3,886.9 and 3,882.7 respectively while at the same time the Kospi fell 0.44 percent to 1,388.45 and the Taiex dropped 1.12 percent to 6,391.15.
The Sensex added 0.14 percent to 14,785.74 while the Shanghai Composite gained 1.61 percent to 2,975.31.
In early afternoon trade in New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.97 percent to 8,520.16 while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.6 percent to 1,849.23 and the S&P 500 gained 0.83 percent to 926.55.
Crude oil prices were up in afternoon trade, while precious metals prices dropped on the floor trade session in New York and grains were mixed in mid-day trade on the Chicago Board of Trade.
The yen weakened on more risk appetite from investors.
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