UPDATE 2-European shares hit record in countdown to Christmas

(No European stock market reports Dec 25-26 due to UK/EU
holidays)
* STOXX 600 set to close out best year in a decade
* Trading volumes thin as traders head off for Christmas
* German, Italian, Swiss indexes closed

(Updates to market close)
By Sruthi Shankar
Dec 24 (Reuters) - European stocks ground out fresh record
gains on Tuesday in thin trading ahead of Christmas with
investors optimistic about global growth heading into 2020 amid
progress in U.S.-China trade talks.
In an early close for markets, the pan-European STOXX 600
index .STOXX added 0.12% to touch an all-time high, while
France's CAC 40 .FCHI and Spain's IBEX 35 .IBEX were little
changed.
Domestically focused mid-cap shares .FTMC in Britain
outshone their European peers again with a 0.6% rise to hit a
new record, while the blue-chip index .FTSE clung to a
five-month high. .L
With only a week left for 2019 to close, European shares are
on course to log their best gains in a decade as two of the
biggest risks to global growth - a prolonged Sino-U.S. trade war
and a disorderly exit for Britain from the European Union -
eased over the past few weeks.
Following the landslide Dec. 12 election victory for Prime
Minister Boris Johnson's Conservatives, Britain now looks
certain to leave the EU on Jan. 31 with a withdrawal deal that
includes a transition period lasting until the end of 2020.
However, investors are concerned about the outcome next year
of post-Brexit negotiations to establish the UK's future trade
relationship with the EU, as Johnson's hard line could
eventually raise the risk of no deal.
"Markets may look buoyant, but not all is what it seems,"
said Vishnu Varathan, senior economist at Mizuho Bank.
"Uncertainty that hangs over the global economy has taken a back
seat, but will not go silently into the night."
In thin corporate news, BMW BMWG.DE said it was being
investigated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission over
its sales reporting practices. But with the German stock index
.GDAXI closed for the Christmas holidays, any impact on the
automaker's shares will only be evident on Friday. Shares in BBVA BBVA.MC slipped 0.6% after Reuters reported
the European Central Bank had asked Spain's High Court to
provide information about an investigation into a spying case
involving the lender. Italian .FTMIB and Swiss .SSMI markets were also shut on
Tuesday. Most European stock markets will remain closed on Dec.
25 and Dec. 26 for Christmas and Boxing Day.