European Markets Posted Modest Gains After Returning From Christmas Holiday

(RTTNews) - The European markets ended Tuesday's session with modest gains. Trading volume remained thin following the long Christmas holiday weekend. Markets in the U.K. remained closed in observance of Boxing Day.

Bank stocks were in focus, after the European Central Bank said that troubled Italian lender Monte dei Paschi di Siena needs about an EUR 8.8 billion, or $9.2 billion, bailout.

It was previously estimated that the world's oldest surviving bank required EUR 5 billion to deal with a capital shortfall. The lender failed to raise the amount within the time provided by the ECB.

The latest figure is based on the results of stress tests carried out this year, according to Monte dei Paschi. The ECB has also pointed out that the bank's liquidity worsened between November 30 and December 21.

The Italian government approved a EUR 20 billion package on December 23 to support the country's embattled banking sector.

The pan-European Stoxx Europe 600 index advanced 0.12 percent. The Euro Stoxx 50 index of eurozone bluechip stocks increased 0.14 percent, while the Stoxx Europe 50 index, which includes some major U.K. companies, added 0.05 percent.

The DAX of Germany climbed 0.19 percent and the CAC 40 of France rose 0.18 percent. The FTSE 100 of the U.K. was closed and the SMI of Switzerland finished higher by 0.33 percent.

In Frankfurt, Deutsch Bank dropped 1.52 percent. The stock jumped at the end of the previous week after it reached a settlement with the U.S. government. Commerzbank also slipped 0.48 percent.

In Paris, BNP Paribas fell 0.80 percent and Credit Agricole decreased 0.21 percent.

Parmalat soared 10.27 percent in Milan, after France's Lactalis announced a buyout of the diary group.

French unemployment decreased for the third consecutive month in November, the labor ministry reported Monday. The number of people out of work dropped by 0.9 percent or 31,800 from prior month to 3.45 million in November. This was the longest streak of decline since 2008.

China's industrial profits grew at a faster pace in November from a year ago, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Tuesday. Industrial profits surged 14.5 percent year-over-year to CNY 774.6 billion in November, well above the 9.8 percent climb in October.

Home prices in major U.S. metropolitan areas saw slightly faster annual growth in the month of October, according to a report released by Standard & Poor's on Tuesday. The report said the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Home Price Index increased by 5.1 percent year-over-year in October, reflecting an uptick from the revised 5.0 percent growth in September.

Economists had expected the annual rate of home price growth to come in unchanged compared to 5.1 percent increase originally reported for the previous month.

After reporting a significant improvement in U.S. consumer confidence in the previous month, the Conference Board released a report on Tuesday showing that consumer confidence continued to improve in the month of December.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index jumped to 113.7 in December from an upwardly revised 109.4 in November. Economists had expected the consumer confidence index to rise to 108.5 from the 107.1 originally reported for the previous month.