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 materialize.

"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, close early on Tuesday due to the holidays.

Paris's CAC 40 gained while Frankfurt was closed all day.

London also rose, despite a week clouded by lackluster 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 1100 GMT

London - FTSE 100: UP 0.5 percent at 8,142.92 points

Paris - CAC 40: UP 0.5 at 7,311.73

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 $1.0395 from $1.0408 on Monday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.2536 from $1.2531

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 157.08 yen from 157.14 yen

Euro/pound: DOWN at 82.89 pence from 83.03 pence

West Texas Intermediate: UP 0.8 percent at $69.79 per barrel

Brent North Sea Crude: UP 0.8 percent at $73.21 per barrel