Banks in focus as world stocks drift into Christmas break

Europe's stock markets and Wall Street were broadly stable Friday on a quiet last trading day before Christmas, with banks topping the agenda after huge US fines and a bailout in Italy. London closed marginally higher in a half-day session, as upwardly-revised data showed the British economy grew 0.6 percent in the third quarter despite Brexit jitters. In the eurozone, Frankfurt and Paris hovered around either side of unchanged, but Milan jumped nearly one percent on relief over a state rescue o