European markets traded slightly lower Tuesday as financial markets rounded out the last trading day of 2019 with a shortened session.
The pan-European Stoxx 600 finished provisionally lower by 0.12%. The index was heavily affected by reduced trading around Europe. The FTSE 100 in London ended the day almost six tenths of one percent lower at 7542.
Financial markets in Germany, Italy and Switzerland are closed Tuesday.
The Stoxx 600 gained more than 23% on the calendar year, while the top 100 stocks in London's FTSE index managed a 12.1% rise.
In the United States, stocks loooked set for little movement at thge open of trade but the major averages will record strong annual gains. The S&P 500 entered Tuesday's session up 28.5% for 2019, on pace for its biggest one-year gain since 2013.
Earlier, trading was also thinner in Asia with markets in Australia and Hong Kong closing early on Tuesday, and major Asian markets in Japan and South Korea already shut for 2019.
Chinese stocks were mixed by the afternoon on Tuesday despite official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for December came in slightly above expectations on Tuesday, according to the country's statistics bureau.
In other news, ousted Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn, who was awaiting trial on criminal charges in Japan, confirmed reports on Tuesday that he's left the country and is in Lebanon, commenting that he will no longer be "held hostage by a rigged Japanese justice system."
It was not clear how Ghosn was able to leave Japan, where he has been under strict court-imposed restrictions on his movements. Japan's Ministry of Justice didn't immediately reply to CNBC's request for comment on Ghosn's statement.
There were no European data releases or earnings Tuesday.
- CNBC's Yen Nee Lee contributed to this report.