U.S. stocks were mixed in early trading Wednesday.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is up two-tenths of one percent, while the NASDAQ composite index is off seven-tenths of a percent. The S&P 500 index is virtually unchanged from Tuesday's close.

In Europe, stocks are up in afternoon trading.

London's Financial Times index is up one-half of a percent. The CAC-40 in Paris is up fractionally, while the DAX index in Frankfurt is ahead three-tenths of a percent.

Tokyo's Nikkei index gained nearly four-tenths of one percent to finish at 8,773.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 1.3 percent to finish the day's trading at 18,309.

Gold is trading down $3.23 at $1,654.75 an ounce.

The dollar is trading down against both the euro and the yen.