Global Stocks Rise as Inflation Fears Ease : Investing: Dollar ends mixed against major currencies. U.S. markets were closed for Labor Day.

The U.S. dollar was mixed against major world currencies Monday, while stocks in Asia and Europe were mostly higher and gold prices rose.

U.S. markets were closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday.

The dollar slipped to 109.58 Japanese yen in London from 110.22 on Friday. Earlier in Tokyo, the dollar finished trading at 109.62 yen.

The dollar, which traded above 124 yen as recently as May, ended last week in New York at 110.05 yen.

Market watchers in Japan said sentiment for the dollar remains weak and investors are still optimistic about a possible economic turnaround in Japan.

The euro, the single currency of 11 European nations, fell to $1.059 in London on Monday from $1.060 Friday, but the British pound was quoted at $1.605, up from $1.604.

Britain’s foreign secretary, Robin Cook, gave a strong endorsement to the euro in a speech to Japanese business leaders in Tokyo. But Cook did not abandon the British government’s wait-and-see approach to joining the single currency.

He said the euro has gained acceptance on world bond markets and brought new strength to the economies that have adopted the currency. Cook also said a decision to join the euro would be subject to the support of Britons.

Meanwhile, stock market activity around the world got a boost from Wall Street’s gains on Friday, when a noninflationary employment report ignited a powerful rally. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 2.2% on Friday and the Nasdaq composite index rose nearly 4%.

Most Asian stock markets closed higher.

Japan’s benchmark 225-issue Nikkei index rose 126.52 points, or 0.72%, to end Monday’s session at 17,756.51.

Trading was light as U.S. markets were closed and Japanese market players awaited Thursday’s release of their nation’s April-June gross domestic product data. The figures are expected to show that GDP contracted 0.1% from the previous quarter.

In Hong Kong, the blue-chip Hang Seng index rose 206.85 points, or 1.6%, closing at 13,385.16. South Korean shares also closed sharply higher. The main Korean composite index rose 32.60 points, or 3.6%, to 943.22.

Bucking the trend was the Jakarta exchange, where Indonesia’s key index slumped more than 4% because of mounting violence in East Timor.

In London, the FTSE-100 index was up 43.6 points, or 0.7%, at 6,375.7.

“Markets are looking principally at the strength of demand in the States and at prices,” said Paul Horne, European equity market economist at Salomon Smith Barney in London.

The Dow Jones index of 592 European companies rose 2.95 points, or 0.9%, to close at 315.27 Monday.

Germany’s DAX index rose 1.2%, Milan’s MIBtel index was up 0.7% and Amsterdam’s AEX index gained 1.5%. The Paris CAC-40 index closed with a drop of 0.1%.

Gold dealers in London fixed a recommended price of $254.50 per troy ounce, up from $254 on Friday. Gold rose 70 cents in Hong Kong to close at $255.15 an ounce.

Silver closed in London at $5.13 bid per troy ounce, unchanged.