Bloomberg (31/12) -- European stocks were small changed amid shortened trading hours for New Years Eve before American consumer confidence and housing data. U.S. stock-index futures and Asian shares were also little changed.
International Personal Finance Plc rose 1.5 percent as Citigroup Inc. recommended that investors buy the shares.
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.2 percent to 327.64 at 8:06 a.m. in London. The U.K. cash market will near at 12:30 p.m., while markets including France, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands will close by about 1 p.m. London time. Exchanges in Germany, Switzerland, Italy, and the Nordic countries are already closed for the year.
Standard & Poors 500 Index futures added less than 0.1 percent today and the MSCI Asia Pacific Index advanced 0.1 percent for an 11th straight day of gains.
The number of shares trading hands today in Stoxx 600 listed companies was 67 percent lower than the average of the past 30 days, data compiled by Bloomberg showed.
Global equities soared by more than $9.5 trillion in 2013 after central bank stimulus helped the U.S. economy profit momentum and the euro area emerged from recession. European stocks have advanced 17 percent this year for their biggest get since 2009, sending the Stoxx 600 to trade at 15.4 times its constituents projected earnings, up from 11.6 times at the beginning of 2013.