U.S. stock market indexes rose in Tuesday's early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ gained four-tenths of a percent, while the S&P 500 advanced half a percent.

European stock markets were higher in afternoon trading. London's Financial Times 100 index gained two-tenths of a percent, the CAC-40 in Paris moved up half a percent, and the DAX in Frankfurt jumped six-tenths of a percent.

Earlier in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index gained seven-tenths of a percent to finish at 9,443. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost one-third of a percent to finish the day's trading at 22,869.

The price of gold rose more than $1 to trade at $1,545.65 an ounce.

The dollar was higher against the yen but lost value compared to the euro.