Europe ends higher after Dow hits 18,000, GDP beats

European shares closed higher on Tuesday, with an upward revision to U.S. GDP data and record gains on Wall Street boosting sentiment.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 extended gains to close around 0.4 percent higher at 1,372, after a final reading of U.S. third-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) came in at an annualized 5.0 percent.This was above forecasts of 4.3 percent and also above a prior estimate of 3.9 percent.

Read MoreUS third-quarter growth revised up to 5.0%

Dow hits 18,000

U.S. stocks furthered record gains on Tuesday on the news, prompting the Dow Jones Industrial Average index to hit 18,000.

London's FTSE closed around 0.1 percent higher and the German DAX ended 0.4 percent higher.

French stocks outperformed after France's final third-quarter figure for GDP came in unchanged at 0.4 percent (year-on-year). The benchmark CAC index ended around 1.4 percent higher.

Spanish stocks ended around 1 percent higher after the Bank of Spain raised its economic growth forecast for the country in 2014. The central bank also said growth accelerated in the fourth quarter, boosted by falling oil prices.

In Greece, financial markets' resumed their rocky ride on Tuesday, losing as much as 2.5 percent, as lawmakers failed again to approve the prime minister's choice of president.

Read MoreGreece's prospects looks shaky as presidential vote fails again

In the U.K., third-quarter GDP came in at 0.7 percent, compared to the month before, unchanged from its first reading but below a forecast 0.8 percent.