U.S. STOCK MARKETS

The Dow finished with its biggest decline in almost three weeks Tuesday, falling for the second session in a row after knocking on the door of multiyear highs early in the session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 68.06 points, or 0.5%, to 13203.58, its sharpest drop since Aug. 2.

The blue-chip benchmark rose as many as 59 points earlier, before sinking into the red around midday. The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index declined 4.96 points, or 0.4%, to 1413.17.

The Nasdaq Composite dropped 8.95 points, or 0.3%, to 3067.26. Market watchers noted Tuesday's selling accelerated after the S&P 500 failed to push strongly past a previous high.

Markets have rallied hard and fast in recent weeks. The Dow has climbed about 9.1% since bottoming in early June, and remains about 76 points below its May's 2012 high. A push above that level would mark the benchmark's highest finish since December 2007.

Investors will be watching the Federal Reserve closely in the coming days for signs that the central bank could act again to firm up economic growth.

On Wednesday, the Fed's policy-making committee will release the minutes from its most recent meeting. Next week, Wall Street will turn its attention to the annual economic policy symposium hosted by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City in Jackson Hole, Wyo., where Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke announced a second round of bond-buying in 2010.

Telecommunications and technology stocks lagged most Tuesday. Verizon Communications fell 1.9%, and Walt Disney declined 1.6%.

Financial stocks were the only sector on the S&P 500 to advance, as J.P. Morgan Chase added 1.8%. In other corporate news, shares of Facebook fell 4.3% after Peter Thiel, one of the social network's earliest investors, disclosed that he has sold the majority of his holdings in the company.

Mr. Thiel said in a filing that he was holding just 5.6 million Facebook shares, after selling 20.1 million shares and distributing another 2.2 million shares to investors.

Apple fell 1.3% one session after becoming the largest company ever by market capitalization. Traders noted that shares moved lower after an analyst at Oracle Investment Research reduced its stock rating based on concerns about the Apple's planned move into the television business.

EUROPEAN STOCKS, BOND MARKETS

European shares rose Tuesday, with banks and mining firms posting broad gains on growing hopes the European Central Bank will take new steps to address the euro-zone debt crisis and on hints that further monetary stimulus may be forthcoming in China.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.4% to close at 272.58. Miners ranked among the biggest beneficiaries of the positive sentiment after a report from Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency's Economic Information Daily that Beijing was planning new economic stimulus for the second half of the year.

In London, shares of Rio Tinto PLC rose 2.1%, BHP Billiton PLC added 1.5% and Anglo American PLC picked up 3.6%. Also higher, Xstrata PLC gained 2.1% as Ivan Glasenberg, chief executive of Glencore International PLC, told Dow Jones Newswires that the proposed merger of Glencore with Xstrata is not a "must-do deal." Shares of Glencore rose 1.8%.

The gains helped lift the U.K.'s FTSE 100 index 0.6% to 5,857.52. Barclays PLC gained 3.2%. Banks also buoyed the Stoxx 600 index Tuesday, recouping losses a day after the European Central Bank called misleading a weekend news report that it was weighing a plan to cap yield spreads within the euro zone.

Late Monday, however, the U.K.'s Daily Telegraph newspaper reported that ECB technicians are examining plans to cap bond yields, among other options. Joerg Asmussen, a German member of the central bank's executive board, backed the concept of bond purchases in an interview with a Frankfurt newspaper.

The Athens General Index rose 2.7% to 642.84, as National Bank of Greece SA rallied 6.1%. Italian banks also rallied, helping lift the FTSE MIB index 2.4% to 15,330.46, marking a move back to a year-to-date gain for the first time since early April.

Shares of Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA jumped 7.2%, Intesa Sanpaolo SpA rose 5.1% and UniCredit SpA added 2.8%. Yields on 10-year Italian government bonds fell 13 basis points to 5.64%, according to electronic trading platform Tradeweb. Yields move inversely to prices.

Yields on 10-year Spanish government bonds fell 9 basis points to 6.18%, while the IBEX 35 index added 1% to 7,544.50. In Paris, Credit Agricole SA gained 5%, Societe Generale SA added 3.9% and BNP Paribas SA rose 2.4%. The CAC 40 index closed 0.9% higher at 3,513.28.

Among German stocks, Deutsche Bank AG added 5.1% and Commerzbank AG rose 3.9%, as the DAX 30 index moved 0.8% higher to 7,089.32.

ASIA-PACIFIC STOCK MARKETS

Asian markets ended mixed Tuesday, with Hong Kong weighed down by poor results from Chinese oil company Cnooc. Japan's Nikkei fell 0.2% to 9156.92 as the dollar's five session winning streak against the yen came to an end overnight. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was flat at 20100.09 as more companies reported earnings.

Cnooc released a worse-than-expected 19% decline in first-half net profit, owing to lower oil and gas output as well as higher income tax. The stock fell 3%.

There were positives, as insurer PICC Property & Casualty Company posted a 23.6% on-year jump in first-half net profit due to higher premiums income and better underwriting profitability, lifting the stock by 7.3%. South Korea's Kospi was down 0.2% at 1943.22.

The index's single largest constituent, Samsung Electronics, ended 0.1% lower, erasing earlier gains. Motor-vehicle makers Hyundai Motor and Kia Motor gained 0.4% and 1.2%, respectively.

Apple reached an all-time high overnight amid growing anticipation over the launch of the iPhone 5, providing a boost for Asian companies that supply the U.S. tech giant. Taiyo Yuden added 1.3% in Japan, and Hon Hai Precision Industry advanced 1.3% in Taiwan.

COMMODITIES

Base metals closed higher on the London Metal Exchange Tuesday, as flagship metal copper extended earlier gains on a weaker dollar against the euro, although the short-term outlook remained uncertain as investors await more clues about the likelihood of further monetary policy easing from the U.S. Federal Reserve, analysts said.

At the close, LME three-month copper was 2.1% higher on the day at $7,609 a metric ton. Thinly traded tin was up 2.4% at $18,950/ton.

Crude-oil futures hit their highest settlement price since May amid market optimism that struggling euro-zone nations will receive regional assistance to strengthen their economies.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose 71 cents, or 0.7%, to settle at $96.68 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The September contract expired at the close of the session. The most actively traded October-delivery contract rose 58 cents, or 0.6%, to settle at $96.84 a barrel. Brent crude on ICE Futures Europe rose 94 cents, or 0.8%, to settle at $114.64 a barrel.

Gold climbed to a three-month high while silver settled at its highest level in more than 10 weeks Tuesday, on the back of a stronger euro and optimism about Europe.

Gold for December delivery, the most active contract, rose $19.90, or 1.2%, to end at $1,642.90 a troy ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, its highest settlement price since $1,645.20 reached May 4.

Silver for September delivery, the most actively traded silver contract, settled 83.5 cents, or 2.9%, higher at $29.428 a troy ounce, its highest settlement price since reaching $29.488 on June 6. Compiled from MORRISON SECURITIES PTY. LTD.