UPDATE 2-European stocks extend year-end rally on Brexit deal boost

* UK stocks rally in first trading session after Brexit deal
* SAP gains as unit Qualtrics files for U.S. IPO
* Global investors eye U.S. Senate vote on fiscal aid
* UK's Hut Group tops STOXX 600

(Updates to market close)
By Sruthi Shankar and Ambar Warrick
Dec 29 (Reuters) - European stocks closed at a fresh
10-month high on Tuesday, powered by a Brexit trade deal, hopes
of a bigger U.S. stimulus package and a marathon COVID-19
vaccination campaign.
The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX ended up 0.8%, rising
for a fifth straight session. British stocks .FTMC .FTSE
outperformed their regional peers, jumping around 1.7% in their
first day of trading after the sealing of a Brexit trade
agreement last week.
Irish stocks .ISEQ , also considered a barometer of Brexit
sentiment, closed 1.3% higher at their strongest level in more
than 13 years.
While the agreement, signed last week, clears doubts over
UK-EU trade in the near term, the two are yet to hammer out the
finer details of the deal- a process that is expected to take
years.
The coronavirus pandemic also remains as a source of
uncertainty, given that economic ructions from the virus will
persist in the time taken for widespread vaccination.
European shares are set to end the year lower, despite
rallying strongly from multi-year lows hit earlier in the year.
For the day, British e-commerce firm Hut Group THG.L
topped the STOXX 600 after it said it would buy Dermstore, an
online retailer owned by Target Corp TGT.N for $350 million in
cash. AstraZeneca AZN.L rose 3.3% on news that the British
government is expected to approve COVID-19 vaccine shots for
emergency use within a few days. The German DAX .GDAXI retreated 0.2% from a record high,
while France's CAC 40 index .FCHI added 0.4%. Markets were
also watching for increased stimulus measures from the United
States.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted to meet President
Donald Trump's demand for $2,000 COVID-19 relief checks on
Monday, sending the measure onto the Republican-controlled
Senate. "This is but a resumption of the pandemic bull market, where
cheer is stimulated by policy stimulus," Mizuho analysts wrote
in a note.
Software group SAP SAPG.DE rose 1.5% after its unit,
Qualtrics International Inc, filed for a U.S. initial public
offering. Travel and leisure stocks .SXTP rose 1.5%, taking support
from the launch of an EU vaccination drive over the weekend,
with health workers and residents of care homes across the bloc
among the first to get the shots from Pfizer Inc PFE.N .
The sector is among the worst hit by the pandemic, but is
primed for a recovery after the widespread rollout of a vaccine.