European stocks finish mixed

European stock markets ended an up-and-down session mixed Monday, at the start of a week likely to be dominated by more developments over China and Greece.

London's benchmark FTSE 100 index closed 0.01 percent higher at 6,550.30 points despite a weak mining sector.

In the eurozone, the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.57 percent to finish at 4,984.83 points, while Frankfurt's DAX 30 dropped 0.41 percent to 10,940.33 points compared with Friday's close.

The euro slid to $1.1076 from $1.1112 late on Friday in New York.

Europe's main stock markets had closed slightly lower on Friday at the end of a turbulent week for equities and other financial markets, triggered by concerns over the Chinese and Greek economies.

European bourses opened with gains before see-sawing on jitters over whether Friday's Greek bailout agreement will clear eurozone parliaments, and bigger worries about China's slowing economy.

"Given the market-moving power of Greece in the first half of 2015, investors clearly aren't as fussed about the issue as they once were, with fears over China's next move outweighing the positive progress found on the continent," said Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and her hardline Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble on Sunday hailed a dramatic change in Greece's approach to its debt crisis, ahead of a key parliamentary vote in Berlin on the new bailout amid some worries about the International Monetary Fund's arms-length position towards it.

- Merkel's 'tricky task' -

"The only real news from the region has been the continued German calls for IMF involvement in the third bailout, further highlighting the tricky task Merkel has on Wednesday in trying convince her more sceptical MPs that a deal should be approved without a guarantee from the Washington-based institution," Campbell said.

Before German MPs are asked to approve a third rescue package for debt-mired Greece on Wednesday, Merkel said the eurozone partner's new willingness to embrace reforms was down in part to Berlin's -- and in particular Schaeuble's -- unyielding stance.

Athens' main index finished Monday 1.04 percent higher at 680.94 points.

Asian markets were mixed, with Tokyo helped by better-than-expected Japanese growth figures and Shanghai boosted by a government pledge to support China's volatile stock markets.

The dollar strengthened after solid US data boosted expectations of an imminent rate rise, heaping pressure on oil prices.

China's central bank meanwhile raised the value of the yuan against the dollar by 0.01 percent, the national foreign exchange market said, after a devaluation rocked markets last week.

On the corporate front, shares in Airbus finished 0.98 percent higher at 63.01 euros after the European plane maker said Indian airline IndiGo confirmed an order for 250 A320neo planes, a deal first announced last year.

Airbus' largest-ever contract by number of planes is worth a massive $26.5 billion (24 billion euros) prior to the usual discounts, and brings to 530 the number of A320 and A320neo medium-haul planes owned by the low-cost Indian operator.

LafargeHolcim meanwhile won 1.71 percent to 61.17 euros as the Franco-Swiss cement giant said it was selling some of its operations in India to Birla Corporation Limited for 750 million Swiss francs (692 million euros, $767 million).

The move, part of plans to cut debt, comes after the July merger of Lafarge and Holcim to create the world's largest cement company.

US stocks were trading higher Monday, kicking off a week that includes earnings from Wal-Mart Stores and the release of Federal Reserve meeting minutes.

In trades near noon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood 0.15 percent higher at 17,503.06 points.

The broad-based S&P 500 rose 0.39 percent to 2,091.54 points, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 0.32 percent to 5,064.54.