Europe close: Third day of losses, but oil gains ground

European markets made a third day of losses on Tuesday, as markets on the continent started to wind down for the holidays.

The Stoxx Europe 600 had an early rally, but finished down 0.11% to 356.77, with consumer services, technology and utilities struggling the most.

A mild increase in oil prices, first seen in Asia and repeated in Europe during the day, helped resource shares to gains. Telecoms and finance stocks were up too.

West Texas Intermediate was up 1.7% to $36.43 per barrel after the markets closed, and Brent was up 0.4% to $36.50, after prices bottomed out at the lowest levels since 2004 on Monday.

Oil stocks responded accordingly, with BG Group up 3.08% to 929.7p, ENI up 1.61% to €13.50 (£10.00) and Galp Energia up 2.13% to €10.95. In the oil services sector, Amec Foster Wheeler was up 8.82% to 426.7p and SBM Offshore closed up 1.18% to €13.66.

The energy sector's gains were overshadowed somewhat by the fine issued in the UK to French multinational Total over the March 2012 Elgin incident.

Almost 240 workers had to be evacuated from the rig in the North Sea when 3,000 tonnes of gas was inadvertently released 150 miles off the coast of Aberdeen. On Tuesday, the Health and Safety Executive fined the company £1.125m.

But investors didn't seem phased, and Total's stocks were up 0.2% to €40.81 in Paris.

In Frankfurt, the DAX 30 was down 0.23% to 10,473.12 and France's CAC 40 was lower slighty, down 0.02% to close at 4,564.38.

French supermarket giant Carrefour watched its stock sink 0.57% to €26.29 after it announced an agreement to by Romanian supermarket shain Billa Romania. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

Airbus also glided lower, down 0.24% to €61.77, after the aerospace firm agreed to sell its commercial satellite business to Apax Partners as part of its wider restructuring. Like Carrefour, terms of the deal were not made public.

Spain's IBEX 35 was the odd one out on Tuesday, nudging higher by 0.40% to 9,403.60 after Monday's slide. The index started the week in shock, after the Spanish electorate ended decades of two party rule and left the parliament in a kingmaker situation.

Slow progress in talks, edging the country closer to a socialist coalition government, appeared to ease fears of investors in Madrid on Tuesday.

On the economic data front, GfK’s German consumer confidence index rose to 9.4 in January from 9.3 the previous month, surprising analysts who had expected no change.

“The terrorist attacks in Paris in mid-November and the resulting increased terror threat in Germany do not seem to be impacting German consumers,” GfK said. “Thus, the good conditions domestically seem to be reassuming more importance.”

In the US, the final estimate of third quarter gross domestic product was revised to an annualised 2% from a previous estimate of 2.1%. Analysts had been expecting a revision to 1.9%.

"Altogether, the third estimate of third quarter GDP does little to change the picture of solid domestic activity offset by weakness abroad, as final sales to domestic purchasers (GDP less trade and inventories) rose 2.9% in the quarter," said Barclays Research analysts.