Europe Stock Markets Close Higher

Updated from 11:23 a.m. EST

LONDON (

TheStreet

) -- Stock markets in Europe ended higher Monday as investors awaited Tuesday's meeting of European finance ministers, which is expected to address Greece's debt crisis.

Earlier, Japanese and Australian stock markets lost ground in reaction to the announcement late Friday that China's central bank was raising bank reserve requirements in order to rein in economic growth.

Britain's FTSE 100 index closed Monday up 25.02 points, or 0.5%, at 5,167.47, while Germany's DAX ended f10.71 points, or 0.2%, higher at 5,511.10, and France's CAC-40 finished 11.27 points, or 0.3%, higher at 3,610.34, according to the

Associated Press

.

The gains came on light volumes, the

AP

reported, as many Asian bourses were closed for the Lunar New Year and U.S. markets were closed in observance of Presidents Day.

Japan's Nikkei fell 78.89 points, or 0.8%, to close at 10,013.30, while Australia's S&P/ASX200 lost 16.6 points, or 0.4%, to finish Monday at 4,545.5.

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This article was written by a staff member of TheStreet.com.