Prices on major U.S. stock indexes were mixed in midday trading Tuesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is down slightly from Monday's close, while the S&P 500 index is up a tenth of a percentage point. The NASDAQ composite index is ahead six-tenths of one percent.

European stocks closed mixed.

The Financial Times index in London fell slightly to close at 5,396. The CAC-40 in Paris dropped a quarter of a percentage point to finish at 3,154. The DAX index in Frankfurt rose three-tenths of a percent , to end at 5,865.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index gained nearly two percent to finish at 8,774.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index soared nearly two and one-half percent to finish the day's trading at 18,142.

Gold is trading down $12.85 at $1,663.80 an ounce.

The dollar is trading lower against the euro, but up against the yen.