San Francisco Frontiers - Global stocks mostly rise in thin pre-Christmas trade

Overnight, US equities shook off early weakness to push higher as investors waited to see if a so-called Santa Claus rally would materialise.

"The US stock market closed with a mixed bag of results yesterday, but the gift under the tree was a tech-driven rally that lit up the broader market," said Matt Britzman, senior equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Analysts said it could help boost semiconductor-related shares, including in Tokyo, although the key Nikkei index closed down 0.3 percent.

Several exchanges, including Hong Kong, London and Paris, closed early on Tuesday due to the holidays.

Paris's CAC 40 closed higher while Frankfurt was closed all day.

London also closed in the green, despite a week clouded by lacklustre economic data that is "stoking concerns about the UK's slowing momentum heading into the new year," Britzman said.

Hong Kong and Shanghai stock markets closed up over one percent, as China announced fresh fiscal measures to boost its ailing economy.

On Tuesday, state media reported that China will raise its deficit in order to boost spending next year, as the world's second-largest economy battles sluggish domestic consumption, a property crisis and soaring government debt.

In company news, Honda shares closed more than 12 percent higher after the Japanese auto giant announced a buyback of up to 1.1 trillion yen ($7 billion), as it enters merger talks with struggling rival Nissan.

The talks on collaboration between Honda and Nissan would create the world's third-largest automaker, expanding development of EVs and self-driving tech.

Honda's CEO insisted it was not a bailout for Nissan, which announced thousands of job cuts last month and reported a 93 percent plunge in first-half net profit.

- Key figures around 1300 GMT -

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.4 percent at 8,136.99 points (close)

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.1 percent at 7,282.69 (close)

Frankfurt - DAX: Closed

Tokyo - Nikkei 225: DOWN 0.3 percent at 39,036.85 (close)

Hong Kong - Hang Seng Index: UP 1.1 percent at 20,098.29 (close)

Shanghai - Composite: UP 1.3 percent at 3,393.53 (close)

New York - Dow: UP 0.2 percent at 42,906.95 (close)

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0393 from $1.0408 on Monday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2550 from $1.2531

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 157.11 yen from 157.14 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.81 pence from 83.03 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.8 percent at $69.78 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.8 percent at $73.21 per barrel

I.Wright--SFF