China: 'It's Christmas!'

Chinese markets are ending the year in good cheer.

While the Chinese don't traditionally celebrate Christmas, markets over there are enjoying the traditional "Santa Rally" on Monday.

Despite Wall Street closing lower on Friday and subdued activity on Japanese stock markets, Chinese markets jumped higher in thin trade on Monday.

The Shanghai Composite closed up 1.77%, while the CSI300 jumped 2.9%. The Hang Seng in Hong Kong was more muted, closing up 0.17%.

The Asian optimism has helped European markets shrug off plummeting oil prices on Monday and open higher too. The FTSE 100 is up 0.88% at 9.10 a.m. GMT (4.10 a.m. ET), the German DAX is up 1.6%, France's CAC 40 is up 0.74%, and the Euro Stoxx 50 is up 0.98%.

Merry Christmas!