- Mystery drones won't interfere with Santa's work: US tracker
- Djokovic eyes more Slam glory as Swiatek returns under doping cloud
- Australia's in-form Head confirmed fit for Boxing Day Test
- Brazilian midfielder Oscar returns to Sao Paulo
- 'Wemby' and 'Ant-Man' to make NBA Christmas debuts
- US agency focused on foreign disinformation shuts down
- On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis launches holy Jubilee year
- 'Like a dream': AFP photographer's return to Syria
- Chiefs seek top seed in holiday test for playoff-bound NFL teams
- Panamanians protest 'public enemy' Trump's canal threat
- Cyclone death toll in Mayotte rises to 39
- Ecuador vice president says Noboa seeking her 'banishment'
- Leicester boss Van Nistelrooy aware of 'bigger picture' as Liverpool await
- Syria authorities say armed groups have agreed to disband
- Maresca expects Man City to be in title hunt as he downplays Chelsea's chancs
- Man Utd boss Amorim vows to stay on course despite Rashford row
- South Africa opt for all-pace attack against Pakistan
- Guardiola adamant Man City slump not all about Haaland
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Bethlehem marks sombre Christmas under shadow of war
- NASA probe makes closest ever pass by the Sun
- 11 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Indonesia considers parole for ex-terror chiefs: official
- Global stocks mostly rise in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Postecoglou says Spurs 'need to reinforce' in transfer window
- Le Pen says days of new French govt numbered
- Global stocks mostly rise after US tech rally
- Villa boss Emery set for 'very difficult' clash with Newcastle
- Investors swoop in to save German flying taxi startup
- How Finnish youth learn to spot disinformation
- South Korean opposition postpones decision to impeach acting president
- 12 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Panama leaders past and present reject Trump's threat of Canal takeover
- Hong Kong police issue fresh bounties for activists overseas
- Saving the mysterious African manatee at Cameroon hotspot
- India consider second spinner for Boxing Day Test
- London wall illuminates Covid's enduring pain at Christmas
- Poyet appointed manager at South Korea's Jeonbuk
- South Korea's opposition vows to impeach acting president
- The tsunami detection buoys safeguarding lives in Thailand
- Teen Konstas to open for Australia in Boxing Day India Test
- Asian stocks mostly up after US tech rally
- US panel could not reach consensus on US-Japan steel deal: Nippon
- The real-life violence that inspired South Korea's 'Squid Game'
- Blogs to Bluesky: social media shifts responses after 2004 tsunami
- Tennis power couple de Minaur and Boulter get engaged
- Supermaxi yachts eye record in gruelling Sydney-Hobart race
- Hawaii's Kilauea volcano erupts, spewing columns of lava
- Battery X Metals Announces Closing of Non-Brokered Private Placement and Debt Settlement
- MGO Global Announces Closing of Upsized $6.0 Million Public Offering
Global stocks mostly rise in thin pre-Christmas trade
Global stocks were mostly higher on Tuesday, boosted by a tech rally on Wall Street, but gains remained modest in thin Christmas Eve 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
P.Martin--AMWN