Stocks on Wall Street have trimmed earlier gains as investors took profits in light trading due to the Columbus Day holiday.
The Nasdaq rose after Cisco Systems agreed to buy Starent Networks Corp for $US2.9 billion.
However, third-quarter sales at Johnson & Johnsons disappointed investors and stirred doubts about the strength of the latest earnings season.
The Dow Jones Index on Tuesday was up 42 points to 9907. The Nasdaq Composite up 8 points to 2147.
Earlier in Europe, the FTSE in London was down 1.1% , the CAC-40 index in Paris was down 1.2% and the DAX in Frankfurt was down 1.2%.
Brent crude oil rose to $US71.96 per barrel, after OPEC raised its demand forecast for 2010 and the US dollar weakened, boosting demand for commodities.
Gold was trading at $US1063.45 per ounce.
