This was CNBC's live blog covering European markets.

European markets closed lower on Tuesday, breaking a run of eight sessions in the green, as investors geared up for the latest U.S. inflation report this week.

The pan-European Stoxx 600 closed 0.52% lower, with sectors mainly retreating. Industrials led losses, down 1.08%.

Chinese import and export figures came in below expectations, sending mining stocks down 0.78%.

Traders are also looking ahead to U.S. inflation data due Wednesday. The consumer price index data will likely influence how the Federal Reserve proceeds on interest rates at its Dec. 17-18 meeting. Economists polled by Dow Jones forecast that headline inflation rose 0.3% in November and 2.7% over the prior 12 months.

Overnight in the Asia-Pacific region, China stocks were mixed on Tuesday amid broader gains among other regional markets.

Europe stocks close lower

European stock markets closed lower on Tuesday, with the pan-European Stoxx 600 falling 0.5%.

The index has nonetheless gained 1.63% in December so far, according to LSEG data, after a strong unbroken run of gains.

Reversing Monday's trend, Germany's DAX closed just above the flatline while France's CAC 40 led losses, down 1.14%.

— Jenni Reid

Delivery Hero down 10% as Talabat lists in Dubai

Shares of Germany's Delivery Hero were down 10% in late deals, after the company's Middle Eastern subsidiary Talabat debuted on the Dubai stock exchange.

Talabat raised $2 billion through its initial public offering, but shares slid from an opening price of 1.7 United Arab Emirates Dirham ($0.46) to close at 1.49 UAE Dirham on their first day of trading Tuesday.

Delivery Hero last month announced it would sell 20% of shares in the company, higher than previously thought.

— Jenni Reid

U.S. stocks open little changed

U.S. stocks were relatively unchanged on Tuesday morning.

The S&P 500 rose about 0.1%, and the Nasdaq Composite rose almost 0.3%. Meanwhile, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 88 points, or 0.2%.

— Sean Conlon

Stocks on the move: Commerzbank up 3%; Ashtead down 11%

Shares of Germany's Commerzbank rose nearly 3% on Tuesday, rising toward the top of the Stoxx 600 index. It comes shortly after the lender said Jutta Dönges will resign from the firm's supervisory board.

U.K. equipment rental firm Ashtead, meanwhile, tumbled to the bottom of the benchmark regional index.

Shares of the London-listed company fell more than 11% after it proposed moving its primary listing to New York and warned of weaker-than-expected annual profit.

— Sam Meredith

UK hiring slowed down in 2024, Indeed says

Companies in the U.K. slowed their hiring efforts in 2024, recruitment site Indeed said Tuesday, as policies from the country's new government created headwinds for employers.

New data from Indeed showed that as of Nov. 22, there had been a 24% year-on-year contraction in U.K. job postings on the platform.

It meant Britain saw a bigger slowdown in job openings than the U.S., France, Germany, Canada or Australia, according to Indeed's data.

Indeed said in a press release that with new policies such as an increase in employer National Insurance contributions, a higher minimum wage and workers' rights legislation, companies were likely to continue their cautious approach to hiring in 2025.

— Chloe Taylor

Shell and Greenpeace settle lawsuit

Oil giant Shell has settled a lawsuit it filed against Greenpeace U.K. last year after protestors boarded one of the company's vessels.

In early 2023, Greenpeace activists boarded and occupied a Shell floating production, storage and offloading vessel while it was being transported in the Atlantic Ocean.

Shell announced Tuesday that the parties had come to a settlement which would see Greenpeace making a £300,000 ($382,804) payment to the U.K.'s Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

As part of the settlement, Greenpeace also signed a legally binding agreement prohibiting it from carrying out similar action at or near Shell's key oil and gas platforms in the North Sea for five to 10 years, banning the organization from coming within 500 meters of Shell's Penguins, Shearwater, Gannet, and Nelson platforms.

London-listed shares of Shell were 0.1% lower by 11:52 a.m. London time.

— Chloe Taylor

SSE plans $28 billion investment in U.K. grid infrastructure

British energy company SSE said Tuesday that its electricity network subsidiary SSEN Transmission plans to invest at least £22 billion ($28 billion) in new grid infrastructure between 2026 and 2031. The firm added its plans would be submitted to the U.K.'s energy regulator, Ofgem, for approval.

Britain's government has set a target to decarbonize the country's electricity grid by 2030. SSE said its five-year investment plan would help "underpin the UK Government's Clean Power by 2030 ambition."

Shares of the London-listed firm were down 0.9% by 10:48 a.m. London time.

— Chloe Taylor

Stellantis in new joint venture with China’s CATL

Stellantis and Chinese battery manufacturer CATL announced Tuesday that they would jointly invest up to €4.1 billion ($4.3 billion) in building a European battery factory.

The companies said the 50/50 joint venture would see the development of a new large-scale lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery plant in Zaragoza, Spain. Production at the facility is expected to begin by the end of 2026.

Milan-listed shares of Stellantis were up by around 0.5% at 10:00 a.m. London time.

Read more on the story here.

— Chloe Taylor

TeamViewer shares down after 1E deal announcement

Shares of German software maker TeamViewer slid during early trade on Tuesday, losing just over 6% by 8:37 a.m. London time.

Earlier in the session, TeamViewer — which makes remote computer access software — announced it would acquire employee experience software maker 1E, with an enterprise value of $720 million.

TeamViewer CEO Oliver Steil said in a statement that the deal marked the company's largest acquisition to date and would "accelerate enterprise growth, drive innovation and deliver greater value to our customers."

— Chloe Taylor

Allianz raises financial targets

German insurer Allianz lifted its financial targets on Tuesday, ahead of its 2024 Capital Markets Day in Munich.

The company pledged to return more money to its shareholders, aiming to boost earnings per share by 7% to 9% every year until 2027 — a rise from its 5%-7% target between 2021 and 2024. Allianz also said Tuesday it was targeting return on equity of at least 17%, up from its 13% target for the three years ending 2024.

The company said it saw revenue growth of 6% to 7% annually for its property-casualty division, which could bring in an operating profit of up to 9.5 billion euros ($10 billion) by 2027.

Allianz shares were down 1.2% on Tuesday morning.

— Chloe Taylor

Germany confirms harmonized inflation at 2.4% for November

Germany issued a final reading of its November inflation data on Tuesday, confirming the preliminary harmonized print of a 2.4% year-on-year increase, according to state news agency Destatis.

It noted that the November inflation was exacerbated by price hikes in the services sector, but benefitted from a "dampening effect" from energy prices.

— Chloe Taylor

China posts unexpected imports slowdown

Import and export data from China's customs authority fell short of expectations on Tuesday.

Imports in U.S. dollar terms for November contracted 3.9% year-on-year, the biggest decrease since Sept. 2023. Meanwhile, exports were up 6.7% — but analysts polled by Reuters had anticipated a year-on-year rise of 8.5%.

Read the full story here.

— Chloe Taylor

CNBC Pro: Deutsche Bank names its UK “top pick” stocks with compounding growth potential — and one has more than 50% upside

Deutsche Bank has named seven London-listed companies in the business services sector as its top investment picks for 2025, highlighting shares with strong growth potential and defensive characteristics in an uncertain market environment.

One of the stocks has the potential to rise by more than 50% over the next 12 months, the bank said.

CNBC Pro subscribers can read more here.

— Ganesh Rao

European markets: Here are the opening calls

European markets are expected to open in negative territory Tuesday.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 index is expected to open 38 points lower at 8,315, Germany's DAX down 76 points at 20,274, France's CAC down 31 points at 7,454 and Italy's FTSE MIB down 139 points at 34,429, according to data from IG.

There are no major earnings releases in Europe Tuesday. Data releases include final German inflation data for November.

— Holly Ellyatt