Stocks in the United States opened higher on Monday, but later slid on disappointing consumer spending data.
The pace of growth in US manufacturing quickened in October, suggesting a sluggish economic recovery may be gaining some traction, according to an industry report.
Manufacturing activity in China hit a six month high in October.
The Dow Jones Index was down 29 points, at 11089. The Nasdaq Composite was down 8 points at 2498.
The main stock markets in Europe rose at the start of trading on Monday, with the FTSE 100 index in London gaining 0.5% to 5708.
The DAX-30 in Frankfurt climbed 0.5% to 6637 points and the CAC-40 in Paris rallied 0.8% to 3865.
Across the Tasman, the Australian 200 Index closed on Monday up 36 points, or 0.8%, at 2509.
The NZX 50 closed down 5 points, or 0.1%, at 3299 on turnover of $40 million.
At 8.28am on Tuesday, the New Zealand dollar was trading at 76.65 US cents, 77.76 Australian cents, 47.77 pence, 61.70 yen and 0.5516 euro. The Trade Weighted Index was at 67.86.
Brent crude oil was trading at $US84.30 per barrel and gold was trading at $US1350.60 per ounce.
