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

The Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced two-tenths of a percent, while the S&P 500 fell one-tenth of a percent. The NASDAQ dropped three-quarters of a percent.

European stock markets closed mixed ahead of the Brussels summit of the continent's leaders and their debate on resolving Europe's debt crisis.

London's Financial Times 100 index ended up one-half of a percent to finish at 5,553. The CAC-40 in Paris fell two-tenths of one percent to close at 3,170. The DAX in Frankfurt dropped one-half of a percent to end at 6,016.

In Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index lost two-tenths of a percent to close at 8,748.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index ended up one-half of a percent to end at 19,067.

The price of gold rose $19.08 to trade at $1,724.35 an ounce.

The dollar was trading down against the yen, but up against the euro.