World Market Overview

U.S. stocks are mixed, with the blue chips slowly but surely climbing through the trading session, getting some help from a Treasury market that is diving.

The moves may seem small, but every tick higher represents fresh highs for the current rally, which continues to maintain some momentum heading into the year end.

The day's cluster of weaker than expected data included an index of consumer confidence from the Conference Board, a private research group, that fell to 52.5 in December, below the 57.0 reading expected by economists.

While traders were surprised by the report, some said early holiday shopping figures were a better indication that consumer spending is recovering.

Still, consumer discretionary stocks slid in the data's wake.

Toy-maker Hasbro lost 2.1%, while fast food company Yum Brands fell 1.1% and Limited Brands, operator of Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, shed 1.2%.

In bleak news for the housing market, the S&P Case-Shiller home price indexes reported U.S. home prices declined 1.2% in October from September in 10 major metropolitan areas, while the 20-city index fell 1.3%.

European Markets

European stocks ended nearly flat and the euro was stable in listless trading Tuesday, following a disappointing U.S. housing and consumer confidence data.

In Paris, the CAC 40 was off 0.09 percent at 3,858.72 points, while in Frankfurt the DAX finished up 0.02 percent at 6,972.10 points.

The London Stock Exchange was closed for a public holiday.

Early gains in Paris were wiped out by the release of disappointing U.S. data showing housing prices falling faster and the consumer confidence index dropped in December to 52.5 points from 54.3 points the previous month.

Telecom equipment maker Alcatel-Lucent advanced 1.76 percent on Tuesday, however, after agreeing to pay 137 million dollars in fines and penalties to settle US charges it paid bribes to win contracts in Latin America and Asia.

But trading was thin in the holiday week, with market turnover was just 800 million euros, a fourth of normal trading sessions.

In Frankfurt, the DAX managed to stay in positive territory, but the auto sector continued to slide on fears of increased regulations and taxes in China, an increasingly important market for German car makers.

Daimler dipped 0.14 percent, Volkswagen dropped 0.62 percent and BMW fell 1.64 percent.

On Monday each of them lost more than 4.0 percent.

On Tuesday the Chinese government announced it plans to increase the purchase tax for small cars next year, as part of a winding back of stimulus measures introduced to combat the global financial crisis.

French car makers Renault lost 0.67 percent and Peugeot dropped 0.56 percent.

Elsewhere in Europe, Brussels slid 0.19 percent, Lisbon dropped 0.22 percent, and Milan fell 0.32 percent.

Swiss shares ended flat, while Madrid gained 0.05 percent, and Amsterdam rose 0.32 percent.

Asian Markets

Asian stock markets ended mixed Tuesday, with the property and financial sectors weighing on shares in Hong Kong and China, while the strong yen pressured Tokyo's market.

The Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.7%, extending the previous session's 1.9% slide, to end at its lowest closing level in nearly three months, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index shed 0.9%.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.6%, while South Korea's Kospi Composite added 0.6%.

Markets in Australia and New Zealand were shut for a holiday.

China property and financial plays lost ground amid concerns the People's Bank of China will continue to tighten monetary policy after it reiterated Monday the need to prioritize price stability in the nation.

On the mainland, China Vanke, the nation's largest property developer by market share, declined 4.8% and Poly Real Estate Group fell 6.2%, while in Hong Kong, China Overseas Land fell 2.3% and China Resources Land retreated 1.6%.

Among financial stocks, China Construction Bank's Hong Kong shares fell 1.5% and its Shanghai listed ones shed 1.7%.

Among brokerages, Shanghai listed Citic Securities shed 2.1% and Everbright Secturities lost 3.1%.

In Hong Kong, liquefied natural gas distributor Kunlun Energy fell 3.2% after it agreed to buy a 60% stake in PetroChina Beijing Gas Pipeline from parent PetroChina for CNY18.9 billion.

Oil producer PetroChina also retreated 1.6%.

Weaker Chinese shares coupled with a stronger yen weighed on Tokyo's market, but the decline was limited by industrial output forecasts provided by the government before the market open that projected a 3.4% rise in output in December and a 3.7% gain in January.

Among major exporters, Canon lost 1.7% and Honda Motor dropped 1.1%.

Advantest also fell 1.6% as concerns about lingering weakness in the DRAM tester market also weighed.

On the upside, Mizuho Financial Group added 1.3%, supported by president and chief executive officer Takashi Tsukamoto's comments in a Dow Jones Newswires interview that the company's efforts to meet capital adequacy requirements were progressing and there was no need to issue additional new shares.

Seoul's shares gained, boosted by a rebound in technology stocks, with Samsung Electronics gaining 1.7%, Hynix Semiconductor rising 3.7% and LG Display adding 2.4%.

Construction plays rallied on hopes for better earnings next year, with Daewoo Engineering & Construction tacking on 5.0%, GS Engineering & Construction surging 9.6% and Daelim Industrial jumping 5.0%.

Hyundai Elevator soared by a daily limit high of 15% after Schindler Deutschland GmbH, a Germany based affiliate of Switzerland's Schindler Holding AG, increased its stake in the Korean elevator company to 35.27% % from 33.40%.

Among other regional markets, Taiwan's Taiex shed 0.2%, Philippine shares edged down 0.1%, Malaysia's KLCI tacked on 0.4%, Singapore's Straits Times Index rose 0.8%, Thailand's SET index gained 0.9% and Indonesian shares rose 1.0%.

Base Metals

Crude oil prices gained Tuesday, ending near a two-year high as investors see harsh winter weather in the U.S. and Europe potentially translating into demand for the commodity.

Crude for February delivery added 49 cents to end at $91.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Gold futures rallied above the $1,400 mark as traders eyed thin volumes and Comex option expirations Tuesday afternoon.

The most actively traded contract, for February delivery, settled up 1.6%, or $22.70, at $1,405.60 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The thinly traded December delivery contract ended up 1.7%, or $22.80, at $1,405.20 a troy ounce.

More from IBT Markets:

Subscribe to get this delivered to your inbox daily