U.S. stock market indexes fell sharply in Wednesday's early trading as investors worried that partisan bickering in Washington might eventually result in a default on U.S. obligations. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated 1.1 percent, the S&P 500 fell 1.5 percent and the NASDAQ lost 2.1 percent.

European stock markets were lower in afternoon trading. London's Financial Times 100 index lost 1.1 percent, the CAC-40 in Paris moved down 1.7 percent, and the DAX in Frankfurt slid 1.4 percent.

Earlier in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index fell half a percent to finish at 10,047. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost one-tenth of a percent to finish the day's trading at 22,542.

The price of gold rose more than $5 to trade at $1,624.68 an ounce.

The dollar was lower against the yen and but gained value compared to the euro.