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

European stock markets were mixed in afternoon trading. London's Financial Times 100 index gained 1.9 percent, the CAC-40 in Paris was essentially unchanged, and the DAX in Frankfurt slid seven-tenths of a percent.

Earlier in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index gained 1.2 percent to finish at 8,954. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index soared 1.7 percent to finish the day's trading at 20,204.

The price of gold rose more than $34 to trade at $1,822.52 an ounce.

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