Investors started a new month with trading on Monday, but there was little indication in Asia and Europe that shares were ready to rebound quickly from their January slump. Indexes were mixed in Asia. In Tokyo, the Nikkei fluctuated before closing up 6.98 points, or 0.1 percent, at 10,205.02 while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rebounded from its early fall to finish higher by 0.6 percent to 20,243.75. In China, news that manufacturing activity was still strong in January was taken as more evidence the government will maintain its efforts to keep a lid on growth and inflation. Shanghai’s key index led Asia’s slide, falling 47.93, or 1.6 percent, to 2,941.36. Markets in Australia, Singapore and Taiwan also lost ground. European stock markets were steady in afternoon trading. The FTSE 100 in London was up 20 points, or 0.4 percent, while the DAX in Frankfurt rose 15.05 points, or 0.27 percent. The CAC-40 in Paris was flat, though moving higher. Wall Street was poised for a more solid opening later. Before the markets opened on Wall Street, Toyota announced that it had started sending a fix to dealers for recalled vehicles and that it would be available later this week. And Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, said that its profit dropped 23 percent in the fourth quarter, reflecting lower oil prices and weaker demand for fuels amid a slowing economy. Exxon reported net income of $6.05 billion, or $1.27 a share, in the past quarter. That compared with $7.82 billion, or $1.54 a share, in the period a year ago. President Obama also sent the Congress on Monday a $3.83 trillion budget that would pour more money into the fight against high unemployment and bolster taxes on the wealthy. The nation’s unemployment rate currently sits at 10 percent. The deficit for this year would surge to a record-breaking $1.56 trillion, topping last year’s then unprecedented $1.41 trillion gap. The deficit would remain above $1 trillion in 2011. The expected gains on Wall Street would give investors some confidence ahead of a raft of potentially market-moving news — many of the world’s major stock markets have fallen between 5 and 10 percent over the last couple of weeks as investors worried that equity valuations following a ten-month bull run were not justified by the economic fundamentals. That was particularly evident on Friday, when the euphoria surrounding better than expected American economic growth figures did not last long — investors looked on the data with caution, arguing that much of the annualized 5.7 percent increase in gross domestic product was due to companies restocking following the end of the recession. After advancing strongly in the wake of the figures, Wall Street ended lower. “Question marks over the strength of the global recovery continue to weigh on investor sentiment and with a number of high profile economic and corporate announcements due in the coming days, expect further clarity here,” said Ben Potter, research analyst at IG Markets. On the economic front, Greece’s debt crisis will remain in the spotlight, particularly on Wednesday, when the European Commission is set to give its view on the Greek government’s plan to bring borrowing under control over the coming few years. The next day, the European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet will no doubt be pressed to give his opinion on Greece’s debt problems in his monthly press conference after the bank’s latest interest rate decision. On Thursday, both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England are expected to keep their benchmark interest rates unchanged at the historic lows of 1 percent and 0.5 percent respectively. Meanwhile, bond prices fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.63 percent from 3.60 percent late Friday. The yield on the three-month T-bill, considered one of the safest investments, rose to 0.08 percent from 0.06 percent. The dollar mostly rose against other major currencies, while gold prices fell.

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