Stocks in the United States fell on Monday, retreating from record highs last week's after a Federal Reserve official said the bank is closer to curbing its bond purchases.
The Dow Jones Index closed down 0.3% at 15,612, Standard Poor's 500 Index closed down almost 3 points at 1,707.11, but the Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 3 points at 3,693.
The FTSE 100 index in London was down 0.43%, the DAX in Frankfurt was down 0.10%, but the CAC-40 in Paris was up 0.11%.
A holiday in New South Wales meant trading was subdued on the Australian 200 Index which was down 5 points, or 0.1%, at 5,111 on Monday.
The NZX 50 closed up 7 points, or 0.1%, at 4,589.
The New Zealand dollar at 8.30am on Tuesday was trading at 78.22 US cents. Earlier, it was trading at 87.57 Australian cents, 50.83 pence, 76.76 yen, and 0.5886. The Trade Weighted Index was at 74.08.
Brent crude oil was relatively unchanged, trading at $US110.85 per barrel and gold was trading at $US1304 per ounce.
