• Outraged European leaders were gathering in Brussels Monday to discuss how to punish Belarusian authorities, after the forced landing of a Ryanair flight and subsequent arrest of a journalist on board.
• Britain's Royal Mail climbed 4.5% to lead gains among shares trading on Monday.
• While Trainline continued to decline after its plunge last week, falling 5.5%.

LONDON — European stocks closed higher Monday, at the start of the trading week, as investors continued to focus on inflation concerns and geopolitics.

It was quieter trading day in Europe with markets closed in Germany, Switzerland, Denmark, Norway, Belgium and Austria for the Whit Monday public holiday. Britain's FTSE 100 and France's CAC 40 both finished up by around 0.5%.

Outraged European leaders were gathering in Brussels Monday to discuss how to punish Belarusian authorities, after the forced landing of a Ryanair flight and subsequent arrest of a journalist on board.

A fighter jet escorted the Ryanair flight, which was in Belarusian airspace, to land it the capital of Minsk. The authorities cited a security threat, but then proceeded to detain dissident journalist Roman Protasevich. Ryanair has since called it "an act of aviation piracy" and Belarus has been widely condemned by the West.

On Wall Street Monday, U.S. stocks climbed as the technology sector and shares benefitting the most from the economic reopening led the advance5

Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Monday, with markets in mainland China, Japan, Singapore, and Malaysia advancing while shares in Hong Kong and South Korea slipped.

Back in Europe, Britain's Royal Mail climbed 4.5% to lead gains among shares trading on Monday.

While Trainline continued to decline after its plunge last week, falling 5.5%.

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- CNBC's Pippa Stevens contributed to this market report.