European Stocks Edge Up; Asia Is Mixed

European stock markets ended slightly higher in thin volume Monday, as national holidays in the U.S. and Britain made for a quiet day of trading. In Asia, stocks were mixed.

In Germany, shares of Deutsche Telekom gained 5.8% as the company continued to benefit from its increased weighting on the blue-chip DAX stock index, to 13% from about 5%.

Paris-listed retailer Pinault Printemps Redoute saw its shares leap 4.2% after a bullish interview with PPR’s chief executive in the Wall Street Journal Europe on Monday.

Shares in French drinks group Pernod Ricard also bubbled higher, gaining 4.2% on unconfirmed reports suggesting that the company is planning to make a bid for Allied Domecq’s spirits business.

Frankfurt’s DAX index closed down 0.1%; the Paris CAC-40 index ended 0.8% higher; Milan’s MIB index rose 0.6%; and Madrid’s Ibex was up 0.4%.

Markets in London and Athens were closed for holidays.

On Asian markets, shares rose in Tokyo and Hong Kong but slumped in Taipei.

Tokyo’s Nikkei-225 stock average gained 138.97 points to close at 16,111.65, but trading was quiet because of holidays on other major markets.

In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index rose 87.87 points to 12,147.12. But shares of Cathay Pacific Airways slumped 10% because of a pay dispute between the airline and its pilots that caused many flights to be canceled.

In Taiwan, share prices closed sharply lower in the absence of market-boosting news. The Taipei market’s main weighted stock price index fell 103.13 points, or 1.4%, to 7,316.57.

Australian share prices closed higher, with a sharp rise in banking stocks countering a fall in the resources sector. The All Ordinaries Index rose 0.4%.

Manila’s Philippine Stock Exchange index rose 1.2%. In Seoul, South Korea’s composite stock price index rose 0.5%, while Malaysia’s composite index fell 0.7%.

In Latin America, Banco de A. Edwards led Chilean stocks down on concern over a socialist candidate’s win in a primary election. Telefonos de Mexico lifted Mexican stocks on optimism over higher earnings for the phone company.

Chile’s IPSA index fell 0.6% on concern that Socialist Ricardo Lagos, who won a landslide victory in Sunday’s presidential primary, will probably become the country’s next president. Banco Edwards lost 2.3%.

Mexico’s key IPC index rose 1%.

Brazil’s Bovespa rose 1.5%, Argentina’s Merval rose 1% to 524.1 and Peru’s general index rose 1.1%.

Colombia’s Ibomed index in Medellin declined 2% and the Caracas Stock Exchange’s general index lost 0.7%. Emerging-market debt lost 0.02% on an index compiled by J.P. Morgan.

The Toronto Stock Exchange’s key 300 composite index closed up 0.6% on extremely light volume.