U.S. stocks closed lower on Tuesday with the DOW JONES falling below the 18,000 milestone as the political turmoil in Greece and falling oil prices weighed. The DOW JONES lost -0.31% closing at 17,983.07. The S&P 500 declined by -0.49% with a final quote of 2,080.35. U.S. data showed Consumer Confidence rebounding below estimates. The S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index was better-than expected with a reading of +4.5% for october but below the +4.8% in September. Today markets await Initial Jobless Claims, the Chicago Purchasing Managers' Index, Pending Home Sales and Crude Oil Inventories.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained +0.44% closing at 23,605.04 points. China's Shanghai Composite rallied to a close at 3,233.96 points, a plus of +2.15% for the day and a gain of 52.9% for 2014. China's HSBC Manufacturing PMI rose from 49.5 to 49.6 beating estimates by 0.1 but still indicating a decrease in activity with a reading below 50.

Japan's Nikkei slipped -1.57% closing at 17,450.77 finishing the year with a plus of 7.12% fuelled by the BoJ assest purchases and a weakening Japanese yen.