European shares end half-session mixed

LONDON Dec 31 (Reuters) - European shares ended mixed in the final truncated trading session of 2012, with investors unwilling to take on much risk with the U.S. nearing its "fiscal cliff" and after strong year-to-date gains.

At the provisional close at 1300 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 was up 1.21 points at 1,131.77, while the euro zone's blue chip Euro STOXX 50 index inched up 6.59 points to 2,633.44.

Trading volumes were extremely light, with a number of European stock exchanges such as the French, Dutch, Spanish and UK markets only trading for half the session on Monday, and those in Germany, Italy, Austria, Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland closed.