European stocks closed in positive territory Tuesday, shaking off nagging anxieties over the health of Italy's banking system, which gave investors pause for much of the session. A turnaround in bank shares helped to focus a mini turnaround for the European benchmark as shares in lenders cut losses or turned slightly positive late Tuesday.

U.S. stocks ended mixed on Tuesday as Nasdaq closed at a record high for a fourth session while the Dow Jones Industrial Average's push toward 20,000 was again thwarted. Jeffrey Gundlach of DoubleLine Capital earlier told Fox Business that U.S. equities seem very expensive and that stocks are likely to rise moderately from the current level but top off around Donald Trump's inauguration as U.S. president.

Asian shares hit a bump on their 2017 dream run on Tuesday, hurt by doubts over a recent global oil curb deal, and apprehensions ahead of U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's first news conference since his election victory.