US Markets

U.S. stocks closed mixed Tuesday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling slightly following the largest weekly gain in two years as investors hesitated to make big bets ahead of key employment data expected later this week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 12.90 points, or 0.10%, at 12569.87. The decline came after the Dow rose all five trading days last week, gaining 648 points, or 5.4%, in its best performance on a percentage basis since July 2009. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index shed 1.79 points, or 0.13%, to 1337.88, as financial and industrial stocks lagged. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite gained 9.74 points, or 0.35%, to 2825.77.

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The market meandered around the flat line for much of the session as investors cautioned against making large moves following last week's outsized gains as well as ahead of some looming economic figures. Corporate earnings season also unofficially kicks off next week, with Dow component Alcoa reporting its quarterly results Monday. On the economic front, orders for U.S. factory goods climbed 0.8% in May to $445.29 billion, according to the Commerce Department. The gain, which follows a big drop in April, echoes a favorable report on durable-goods orders a few weeks ago and signals that manufacturing is ramping up.

Midafternoon Tuesday, Moody's Investors Service said it cut Portugal's credit rating. The ratings agency placed the European nation into junk, or speculative-grade, status and assigned it a negative outlook. The downgrade added to investor angst about the troubling state of the euro zone. Previously, Standard & Poor's said a French-led proposal to roll over Greek government debt would likely put Greece in selective default.

European Markets

European stocks markets finished largely flat Tuesday, as a possible Chinese interest-rate increase and Friday's U.S. jobs report kept investors largely on the sidelines. Worries about the health of the euro-zone economy weighed on sentiment after the volume of retail sales fell 1.1% in May from April, sharper than the 0.8% fall that economists had expected. A separate report showed that private-sector activity in the 17-nation bloc in June expanded at its slowest pace since October 2009. The weaker data comes as the European Central Bank is expected to hike rates at its monthly policy meeting on Thursday. In the U.S., orders for factory goods orders climbed in May, a sign manufacturing is growing, but the increase was a little shy of expectations amid a sluggish economy.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index edged up fractionally to close at 275.62. A brief statement from China's central bank raised expectations of an imminent rate hike, possibly as soon as this weekend. That weighed on mining stocks, with Rio Tinto falling 1.3%. Among major national indexes, the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index added 0.1% to 6024.03, France's CAC-40 index fell 0.6% to 3978.83, and Germany's DAX ended fractionally lower at 7439.44. Oil producer Tullow Oil climbed 4% after forecasting record revenue. Bank stocks were mostly lower as investors again worried over Greece and its debt problems. Commerzbank fell 1.3% in Frankfurt and Societe Generale dropped 1.7% in Paris. Volkswagen gained 1.1% and MAN fell 3.3% as investors continued to react to news Monday that VW had acquired a majority stake in the truck maker without paying a significant premium.

Asian Markets

Asian stock markets ended in mixed territory Tuesday with Chinese banks lower in Hong Kong and China after Moody's Investors Service said a mainland audit may have understated the amount of loans made to local governments. In the absence of cues from U.S. markets, which were closed for a holiday Monday, many regional markets were confined to narrow ranges. The tone was also cautious as traders awaited U.S. nonfarm payrolls data due this week.

Japan's Nikkei Stock Average finished the day 0.1% higher at 9972.46, Taiwan's Taiex added 0.1% to 8784.44 and South Korea's Kospi advanced 0.8% to 2161.75. China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.1% to 2816.35 after a choppy session, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 0.1% to 22747.95. Thailand's SET, after leading the region's markets higher Monday in a post election rally, slipped 0.5% to 1084.59. China Construction Bank lost 1.2% and Bank of Communications fell 0.7% in Hong Kong; in Shanghai, they dropped 0.8% and 0.4%, respectively. Also weighing on sentiment in Hong Kong and Shanghai, Chinese media reported Tuesday that the country's central bank has heightened expectations of an imminent interest-rate increase, with one newspaper saying a hike could come as soon as this weekend.

Mainland Chinese real-estate major China Vanke jumped 1.5% in Shenzhen after posting strong June sales. The move helped lift the broader sector, with China Resources Land climbing 3.4% in Hong Kong. Some consumer stocks also advanced in Hong Kong after a report the city's retail sales surged in May, with apparel maker Esprit Holdings adding 1.2% and Haier Electronics Group gaining 2.7%. In Tokyo, Fast Retailing Co. shed 1.8% as June sales missed the company's own targets, analysts said. Tokyo Electric Power surged 5.1% amid expectations for progress in the utility's efforts to cool reactors at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant.

Base Metals

Base metals closed higher on the London Metal Exchange Tuesday despite a stronger dollar, with sentiment among market participants mixed as U.S. players returned to trading following the Independence Day holiday. LME three-month copper closed 0.8% higher at $9,535 a metric ton, shaking off the stronger dollar. LME three-month tin outpaced its peers, rising 2.7% to close the session at $26,345/ton.

Crude futures rose to nearly $97 a barrel Tuesday, as investors looked for hints in economic data that oil demand may improve. Oil prices received a small boost from a rebound in factory orders, which rose 0.8% in May, the Commerce Department said. Light, sweet crude for August delivery settled $1.95, or 2.1%, higher at $96.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It rose as high as $97.48 earlier in the session.

Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange closed $2.25 higher at $113.64 a barrel. Gold futures reclaimed the $1,500 mark Tuesday and silver surged by more than 5% as investors viewed last week's losses as an opportunity to buy with global economic worries continuing to underpin demand for the metals as a refuge. Gold for August delivery, the most actively traded contract, settled up $30.10, or 2%, at $1,512.70 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. The most-actively traded silver contract, for September delivery, rose $1.705, or 5.1%, to $35.410 a troy ounce.

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