US markets headed into the green by late-morning on Tuesday as delayed data showed the US economy had grown far more quickly than anticipated in the third quarter. The FTSE 100 (^FTSE) also rallied to end the day higher in London, while European stocks were mixed.

The session saw the last piece of important US data ahead of the Christmas holiday. Wall Street got its first look at third quarter GDP, which showed the US economy grew at a 4.3% annualised rate, much higher than the 3.3% forecast by analysts, and signalling continued economic resilience.

The report has tempered bets on Federal Reserve interest rate cuts. The shutdown-delayed report showed that consumer spending remains strong, though experts caution that the federal stoppage is likely to have slowed growth in Q4. 

Around 85% of bets are now on the Fed pausing its string of rate cuts, up by nearly 10 percentage points from last week. Still, the majority of wagers remain on two cuts by the end of next year.

Movement on major indices was muted as traders wind down for Christmas, with the vast majority of important data and central bank decisions now in the rearview mirror. 

• London's premier index gained 0.3% by the end of the session. Miners Antofagasta (ANTO.L) and Anglo American (AAL.L) were among the top gainers in the index, with precious metals a market bright spot. 

• Germany's DAX (^GDAXI) ticked up 0.2%. 

• Over in Paris the CAC 40 (^FCHI) was 0.2% lower. 

• The pan-European STOXX 600 (^STOXX) gained 0.4%. 

• The pound (GBPUSD=X) rallied almost 0.1% against the dollar just below the $1.35 mark. Sterling had pulled lower unexpectedly earlier in the week as data showed ​inflation unexpectedly fell sharply in November.

• The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and the blue chip-heavy Dow Jones Industrial Average (^DJI) traded up 0.3% and 0.2% respectively. The Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC), meanwhile, regained earlier losses to trade 0.3% higher.