U.S. stock market indexes rose in Monday's midday trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ gained six-tenths of a percent while the S&P 500 rose a half-percent.

European stock markets were lower at the close of trading. London's Financial Times 100 index lost four-tenths of a percent to end at 5,693. The CAC 40 in Paris moved down six-tenths of a percent to finish at 3,800 and the DAX in Frankfurt slid two-tenths of a percent to 7,150.

Earlier Monday in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index rose a fraction of a percent to close at 9,354. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost four-tenths of a percent to end at 21,600.

The price of gold was unchanged at $1,539.40 an ounce.

The dollar was higher against the yen and the euro.