US Markets
Stocks fell after details from the Federal Reserve's most recent policy meeting offered no signals that immediate monetary stimulus is on the way, prompting investors to question whether the rally can continue without a prime driver. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 64.94 points, or 0.5%, to 13199.55, one day after notching its highest close in more than four years. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index lost 5.66 points, or 0.4%, to 1413.38, and the Nasdaq Composite declined 6.13 points, or 0.2%, to 3113.57. Stocks slumped Tuesday afternoon after the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its March 13 policy-setting committee meeting. The minutes showed agreement that the U.S. economic recovery had strengthened moderately, but left investors to question the Fed's appetite for launching additional bond buying, or other new programs, to shore up growth. Energy and materials stocks led the market lower. Bank of America declined 2%, while Hewlett-Packard fell 1.8%. Investors remained upbeat on Apple, which climbed 1.7%, to a new all-time high, after analysts at Piper Jaffray predicted the stock will reach $1,000 in 2014 and become the first company ever to have a $1 trillion market capitalization. U.S. new-vehicle sales in March from the Detroit Three missed the expectations of industry researcher Edmunds.com, though sales figures topped year-earlier levels and were near the best since before the financial crisis. Ford Motor rose 0.2% after reporting that sales rose 5.1% last month, its strongest March in five years. General Motors fell 4.6% after posting a 12% jump in March vehicle sales, which fell short of estimates for a 21% rise. Chrysler Group, majority owned by Fiat, reported its best quarter in four years, as U.S. vehicle sales rose 34% in March from a year earlier.

European Markets
European stock markets ended lower Tuesday in a choppy session as losses for banks weighed on sentiment and Spanish and Italian bond yields surged on debt concerns. The Stoxx Europe 600 index closed down 1.1% at 264.29, after trading as high as 267.62 earlier in the day. Unemployment in the Spain rose 0.8% in March to 4.75 million, government figures showed. Separately, Spanish Finance Minister Luis de Guindos told The Wall Street Journal in an interview that there was no margin for error with the government's 2012 budget announced last week. He said Spain's debt-to-gross-domestic-product ratio will likely rise to just over 78% this year from 68.5% in 2011. The IBEX 35 index tumbled 2.7% to 7,824.50, with shares of Bankinter SA down 5.9%, Banco Santander SA down 4%, and BBVA SA down 4.5%. Yields on 10-year Spanish government bonds rose 9 basis points to 5.41%. In Milan, the FTSE MIB index traded 2% lower at 15,624.23, weighed down by Banca Popolare di Milano SCARL, off 6.6%, and Banco Popolare SC, down 6.8%. Italy's 10-year government bond yield rose 10 basis points to 5.14%. In the U.S., factory orders rose 1.3% in February, slightly below analysts' estimates, while orders for January were revised down to a 1.1% decline from a prior estimate of a 1.0% drop. Banks fell in France. BNP Paribas SA gave up 2.8%, Societe Generale SA lost 3.7%, and Credit Agricole SA fell 3.2%. The CAC 40 index closed 1.6% lower at 3,406.78. In the U.K., shares of Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC declined 3.1% and Barclays PLC lost 2.6%. The FTSE 100 index fell 0.6% to 5,838.34, further pressured by Compass Group PLC, off 1.8%, after Morgan Stanley downgraded the food-service firm to equalweight from overweight. In Germany, the DAX 30 index gave up 1.1% to 6,982.28, as Commerzbank AG shed 3.4% and Deutsche Bank AG lost 3%.

Asian Markets
Asian stock markets ended mostly higher Tuesday on signs of strength in a gauge of U.S. manufacturing, with Hong Kong stocks rebounding after a four-day losing streak, while Japanese stocks declined on a strengthened yen. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.3% and South Korea's Kospi rose 1.0%. On the downside, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.6%, while Taiwan's Taiex gave up 1.3% on worries the government may propose a capital gains tax. Mainland Chinese bourses, which remained closed for a holiday, are set to reopen Thursday, with Hong Kong and Taiwanese markets also shut Wednesday. Many regional markets will be closed on Friday and Monday for Easter or other local holidays. A weaker U.S. dollar helped to support many resource stocks in the region. In Hong Kong, Jiangxi Copper jumped 4.7% and PetroChina added 1.6%. Property stocks and banks also got a lift after recent declines, with China Overseas Land & Investment adding 5.3%, China Resources Land climbing 5.1% and Industrial & Commercial Bank of China advancing 2%. South Korean automakers jumped ahead of U.S. auto sales due out later in the global day. Hyundai Motor surged 6.3%, while Kia Motors added 3.4%. Semiconductor firms rose in Seoul after the advance on Wall Street, but broader market losses hurt weighed on them in Tokyo and Taipei. South Korea's Samsung Electronics climbed 2.8%, while Renesas Electronics Corp. fell 1.1% in Tokyo and Nanya Technology slumped 6.8% in Taipei. A stronger yen also weighed on Japanese exporters. Toyota Motor lost 0.3% and Sony surrendered 0.6%.

Commodities
Base metals closed mixed on the London Metal Exchange Tuesday, with most metals, with the notable exception of nickel, struggling for upward momentum following disappointing U.S. factory orders data. At the close, flagship three-month copper was 0.3% lower on the day at $8,615 a metric ton. Nickel, however, stood out from the pack, closing 1.3% higher at $18,450/ton. The metal had earlier been as much as 2.6% higher, at $18,701/ton. Oil futures finished lower Tuesday after the Federal Reserve released minutes from its March 13 meeting that suggested little enthusiasm for additional stimulus measures. Light, sweet crude for May delivery settled $1.22, or 1.2%, lower at $104.01 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange recently fell 46 cents, or 0.4%, to $124.31 a barrel. Gold futures fell in after-market trading, also on the latest Federal Open Market Committee minutes. Gold for June delivery, the most actively traded contract, had settled down $7.70, or 0.5%, at $1,672 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold extended these losses after the FOMC release, recently trading down $34.10, or 2%, at $1,645.60 a troy ounce.