U.S. stock market indexes fell in Tuesday's early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average retreated half a percent, the S&P 500 fell seven-tenths of a percent, and the NASDAQ lost three-tenths of a percent.

European stock markets were lower in afternoon trading. London's Financial Times 100 index slid six-tenths of a percent, the CAC-40 in Paris moved down one percent, and the DAX in Frankfurt jumped 1.2 percent.

Earlier in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index dropped 1.2 percent to finish at 9,845. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.1 percent to finish the day's trading at 22,421.

The price of gold rose more than $18 to trade at $1,637.45 an ounce.

The dollar was lower against the yen but made gains compared to the euro.