Most European markets are expected to open higher Monday as investor sentiment was uplifted by a rebound in oil prices and a rally in Asian stocks overnight. The higher open comes amid a bounce in oil prices after traders scrambled to close out short positions. A massive storm on the U.S. East Coast increased demand for oil for heating and proved supportive for prices of the commodity.

In addition, European stocks also got support from comments made by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi last week in which he said the governing council would be using other monetary policy tools it has at its disposal.

London’s FTSE 100 should start the session 38 points higher at 5,938, the French CAC 40 is seen up 29 points at 4,366, while the German DAX is set to open 73 points higher at 9,838.

Asian Markets

Asian markets started the new week on a positive foot Monday, continuing its recovery from the global rout that hammered stocks in the first few weeks of 2016.

Australia’s ASX 200 tacked on 1.84 percent to end at 5006.60, with the energy sector leading gains, rallying 3.50 percent.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.90 percent to end at 17,110.91. That followed a nearly 6 percent surge in Friday’s session. Across the Korean Strait in Seoul, the Kospi ended up 0.74 percent at 1893.43.

Chinese markets also traded in positive territory, with the main Shanghai composite ending up 0.78 percent and the Shenzhen composite tacking on 1.01 percent. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index gained 1.37 percent.

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