European markets closed mixed on Tuesday, with Spanish stocks higher on ongoing hopes that Spain will seek a full bailout, a move which would ease investors' concerns over the euro zone debt crisis.
A report by Reuters said that Spain was ready to request a bailout as early as next weekend, but Germany remained hesitant and said the country should hold off. Comments by Spain's Prime Minister reported later in the day seemed to suggest a bailout request wasn't imminent.
Data releasedon Tuesday showed that Spain's jobless rate increased by 1.7 percent from August to September — leaving 4.7 million people out of work.
Spain's IBEX index provisionally closed 1.7 percent higher, while Italy's FTSE MIB closed 0.2 percent lower and Britain's FTSE 100 and the German Dax both closed 0.3 percent lower.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, a European Commission advisory group led by Bank of Finland Governor Erkki Liikanen, called for Europe's banks to separate retail banking from more risky investment banking activities.
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Miners across the continent were under pressure after the Australian government unexpectedly cut interest rates by 0.25 points to a three-year low of 3.25 percent on Tuesday. That raised concerns that Australia and mining sector growth were being affected by a slowdown in China. U.K. gold mining company Randgold Resources pared gains but closed in the black.
Pan-European aerospace company EADS and U.K. arms firm BAE Systems both closed over 2 percent higher as merger talks continued.