European markets ticked higher in mid-morning trade Monday as traders searched for direction on a quiet day for markets. Germany’s Dax and France’s CAC were both around 0.1% higher at 12:30 p.m. London time. Italy’s FTSE MIB and Spain’s Ibex 35 were up 0.18%. U.K. markets are closed for the late May bank holiday, while stateside, U.S. markets are shut for Memorial Day. Asia-Pacific markets rose Monday as industrial profits in China rose during the first four months of the year, according to official data. China’s industrial profits rose 4.3% year on year in the January to April period, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Mainland China’s benchmark CSI 300 index climbed 0.95% to 3,635.7, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index added 1.27%. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.32% to close at 2,722.99, while the small-cap Kosdaq gained 1.02%, finishing at 847.99. Japan’s Nikkei 225 climbed 0.66% to end the day at 38,900.02 and the broad-based Topix rose 0.87% to 2,766.36, rebounding from Friday’s losses. The Australian S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.79% to 7,788.3, snapping a four-day losing streak. Oil prices were in a holding pattern in early Asian trading on Monday as markets awaited an OPEC+ meeting on June 2 where producers are expected to discuss maintaining voluntary output cuts for the rest of the year. The Brent crude July contract inched up 11 cents to $82.23 a barrel by 0036 GMT. The more-active August contract rose 13 cents to $81.97. U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures rose 13 cents to $77.85. Public holidays in the U.S. and UK on Monday were expected to keep trading relatively thin. Gold prices on Monday drifted higher from a two-week low hit in the previous session as traders gauged fading hopes of U.S. interest rate cuts ahead of a key inflation report due later this week. Spot gold was up 0.5% at $2,346.31 per ounce, as of 0331 GMT, having touched its lowest since May 9 at $2,325.19 on Friday. U.S. gold futures rose 0.6% to $2,347.60. Bullion hit a record high of $2,449.89 earlier last week, but has shed more than $100 since then. “I suspect gold can manage a small bounce from current levels before retesting the $2,280-$2,300 zone, which could see losses extended if U.S. data continues to outperform,” said City Index senior analyst Matt Simpson.