(MENAFN- AFP) Global stocks held firm Monday as oil prices hit their highest level in a year and Apple shares rose on further trouble for rival smartphone maker Samsung.
As traders digested last week's market volatility that saw the pound sink to a 31-year low against the dollar over Brexit concerns , London's FTSE 100 won 0.5 percent.
A weak currency typically lifts the earnings of exporters.
Frankfurt rose 1.0 percent followed by Paris with a 0.9-percent increase, gaining momentum from a firmer Wall Street where petroleum-linked shares advanced.
Brent North Sea crude rose to $53.45 a barrel at around 1453 GMT -- its highest price in a year -- after President Vladimir Putin indicated Russia was ready to join measures to limit global oil production.
Asian investors trod warily in holiday-thinned trade and the dollar climbed after last week's drop on below-par US jobs data, while Samsung Electronics was hit by a renewed crisis over its recalled Galaxy Note 7 smartphone.
In US trading, Apple rose as Samsung Electronics acknowledged it was adjusting production of the Galaxy Note 7 smartphone due to reports that replacement units for devices with exploding lithium-ion batteries were also catching fire.
"It's been a slow start to the trading week, as a lack of news flow in Europe and Asia, combined with bank holidays in Japan, Canada and the US, hit trading volumes and switch attentions to big events later in the week," said Oanda analyst Craig Erlam.
"As for today, focus will likely remain on some of the big moves that we saw last week -- including the flash crash and sharp depreciation in the pound, dollar gains, the corresponding drop in gold and the four-month highs in oil."
The pound was lodged close to 31-year dollar lows after a so-called flash crash in Asia on Friday saw it collapse, with investors on edge over Britain's plans to leave the European Union.
Britain's finance minister Philip Hammond downplayed the currency's flash crash, blaming technical factors, but Bank of England Governor Mark Carney asked the Bank for International Settlements to investigate.
"The BoE find themselves in an unenviable position because the British pound is trading at levels not seen in a generation, despite the United Kingdom remaining one of the strongest performing economies across the developed world," Luzdary Hammad, of Action Global Communications, said.
- Samsung in fresh turmoil -
Seoul ended up 0.2 percent but Samsung Electronics was battered by reports that it had suspended production of its flagship Galaxy Note 7 handset after distributors stopped offering replacements because of continued safety concerns.
US telecoms firm AT&T and German rival T-Mobile said they had stopped exchanges of the Note 7 pending probes into reports of some replacement handsets catching fire.
Samsung announced a global recall of 2.5 million handsets last month after complaints that some had exploded owing to a battery problem.
Shares fell four percent in morning trade before recovering in the afternoon to end down 1.5 percent.
Markets in Tokyo, Hong Kong and Taipei were closed for public holidays.
- Key figures around 1345 GMT -
London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 7,076.72 points
Frankfurt - DAX 30: UP 1.0 percent at 10,594.98
Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.9 percent at 4,490.09
EURO STOXX 50: UP 0.9 percent at 3,027.13
Pound/dollar: DOWN at $1.2374 from $1.2439
Euro/pound: UP at 90.13 pence from 90.01 pence
Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.1152 from $1.1196
Dollar/yen: UP at 103.55 yen from 102.93 yen
New York - DOW: UP 0.8 percent at 18,389.20
Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.5 percent at 3,048.14 (close)
Tokyo - Nikkei 225: Closed for a public holiday
Hong Kong - Hang Seng: Closed for a public holiday
Oil - West Texas Intermediate: UP $1.18 at $50.99 per barrel
Oil - Brent North Sea: UP $1.19 at $53.12
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