U.S. stock indexes fell in midday trading Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is off three-tenths of one percent, while the broader S&P 500 fell one-half of a percentage point. The NASDAQ dropped seven-tenths of one percent.

European markets ended narrowly mixed from Monday's close.

London's Financial Times 100 index gained one-tenth of one percent to end at 5,358. The CAC-40 in Paris closed down a quarter of a percentage point to finish at 3,231. The DAX in Frankfurt lost nearly one-half of a percent to end the day's trading at 5,995.

Earlier, in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index gained two-tenths of one percent to close at 9,107. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index lost a quarter of one percent to end at 20,212.

The price of gold increased $8.47 to trade at $1,774.32 an ounce.

The dollar was higher against the euro, and down against the yen.