U.S. stocks meandered between positive and negative territory as a mixed bag of corporate earnings and economic data left investors without clear signs on whether the market's recent rally can be justified.

Leading the decline, DuPont slipped 1.7%. The chemical company's third quarter profit fell 10% on lower pharmaceuticals income due to patent expirations, while overall revenue and volume both improved. But Bank of America gained 1.6% in a respite from a bruising month for the bank. The company's shares have fallen 13% in October amid the impact of investigations into banks' foreclosure practices.

Microsoft also was strong, up 2.1% two days ahead of its quarterly earnings report. The wavering came as the market, coming off of a rally that sent the Dow to near a six month high Monday, appeared to pause a week ahead of a heavy load of long awaited events. These include a Federal Reserve meeting in which the central bank is expected to announce additional stimulus measures, midterm elections, and the government's report on October employment.

European market

European stock markets ended lower Tuesday, pressured in the wake of disappointing earnings from Swiss banking giant UBS AG and a cautious outlook from steelmaker ArcelorMittal. The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.2% to close at 266.92 in afternoon trading. The index rose 0.3% on Monday.

European stocks pared some losses after data showed an increase in U.S. consumer confidence in October. Still, confidence continues to be near historically low levels, the Conference Board said. Major regional indexes lost ground.

In London, the FTSE 100 index dropped 0.8% to close at 5,707.30, while the German DAX 30 stock index fell 0.4% to end at 6,613.80. The French CAC-40 index lost 0.4% to settle at 3,852.66. Banks were in the spotlight, with shares of UBS AG falling 5%. The bank swung to a third quarter profit, beating forecasts, but its headline figure included some hefty one off items.

Shares of Deutsche Bank AG dropped 1.6% and BNP Paribas fell 0.5%. Another big decliner in Europe was Luxembourg based steel maker ArcelorMittal, which reported a 48% increase in third quarter net income, but maintained a cautious outlook, citing higher material costs and muted demand. Shares fell 5% in Amsterdam.

In France, shares of luxury goods makers LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA fell 3.1% and Hermes International SA lost 11.8%, with both stocks giving back some of the gains posted during the prior session. That was the same for other luxury goods makers. Swiss based Compagnie Financiere Richemont SA and Italy's Bulgari SpA each fell 0.9%.

Shares of industrial gas producer Air Liquide SA declined 1.1%. They have surged 34% over the past 12 months. The company reported Tuesday a 15% increase in third quarter revenue and confirmed its full year objectives. Shares of Danish alternative energy firm Vestas Wind Systems fell more than 10% in Copenhagen. The company on Tuesday said it would cut 3,000 employees and warned that the outlook for the 2011 wind market would be weaker than expected, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

In London, shares of Cairn Energy PLC tumbled 7.2% after the company said it discovered no energy at two wells in Greenland and would write off the $185 million of related costs. Shares of ARM Holdings PLC slumped 5.9%. The firm reported higher pretax profit and sales for the third quarter and said it expects growth for the fourth.

Miners also gave back some gains from the prior session and tracked falling commodity prices. Shares of Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. PLC fell 2.1%, Antofagasta PLC dropped 1.5%, and BHP Billiton PLC fell 2.5%.

Asian market

Asian equity markets were mostly lower Tuesday, with Australian stocks down as political opposition mounted to Singapore Exchange's multibillion dollar bid for stock market operator ASX Ltd. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.3%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.5%, China's Shanghai Composite dropped 0.3%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gave up 0.1% and India's Sensex declined 0.4%.

South Korea's Kospi rose 0.2% and Taiwan's main index gained 0.4%. Shares of ASX, which soared more than 19% Monday on news of Singapore Exchange's US$8.3 billion bid, tumbled 7.4% as Australian opposition lawmakers turned up the heat on the proposed deal, saying it would give a foreign government too much influence over the Sydney based exchange. Singapore Exchange, or SGX, fell 2.6% in Singapore afternoon trade.

Lawmakers in Canberra will have to approve the SGX-ASX deal, which would require a change in Australian regulatory law. Under Australian corporations legislation, no single shareholder can own more than 15% of the ASX, and any proposal to lift that threshold must be tabled in parliament for 15 days. Financials declined in Sydney to reverse gains from the previous session, with Macquarie Group shedding 0.9% and Commonwealth Bank down 1.5%. Banks and insurance companies led the decline in Chinese shares after recent gains.

The Shanghai Composite hit an intraday high of 3073.38 in the previous session. China Everbright Bank fell 2.0% to after rising 29% since the start of October, and China Construction Bank dropped 1.3% after a 14% rise since the beginning of the month. Oil companies were up in Hong Kong and the mainland after China's National Development and Reform Commission on Monday announced plans to raise domestic ex-factory gasoline, diesel and jet-fuel prices by 3%-4% due to higher crude oil prices.

Petrochina was up 0.9% in Hong Kong and 1.0% higher in Shanghai, while China Oilfield Services H-shares gained 0.5% and its A-shares rose 2.2%. In Japan some exporters underperformed after the U.S. dollar touched a fresh 15 year low of Y80.41 on Monday. Shares of Canon fell 1.1% and Komatsu was down 2.3%. Astellas Pharma shed 1.1% after the Nikkei reported that its group operating profit was now expected to drop 38% to around Y115 billion in the year ending March 2011, about Y20 billion below the firm's previous forecast.

Shares of Cebu Pacific Air, Philippines' largest budget carrier by sales, made a strong debut in Manila, ending at PHP133, as compared to its initial public offering at PHP125. It was the second largest ever initial public offering in the Philippines. Philippine shares ended 0.2% lower, while New Zealand's NZX-50 dropped 0.1%. Elsewhere in the region, Singapore's Straits Times Index gave up 0.6%, Indonesian shares were up 0.3% and Thailand's SET Index rose 0.4% in afternoon trading.

Base metals

Base metals on the London Metal Exchange ended mixed Tuesday, checked by a slightly stronger dollar and mixed U.S. economic data. Copper ended $7 lower at $8,510 a metric ton. Nickel and tin also ended lower. Zinc broke free of other metals to close $50 higher at $2,615/ton. Aluminum and lead edged slightly higher. U.S. consumer confidence improved more than expected in October, but confidence levels are at historic lows, the Conference Board said Tuesday.

However, a U.S. home price index showed home prices fell in August from a month earlier, underscoring the mixed outlook for the U.S. economy. Asset manager BlackRock Asset Management International Tuesday notified U.S. regulators that it plans to launch a physically backed copper exchange traded fund. Goldman Sachs will store the metal, according to a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In a report Tuesday, Goldman said physically backed base metal ETFs could exacerbate volatility and tighten markets in the near term, and singled out copper as the most sensitive to an ETF. Goldman estimated a copper ETF that amassed 50,000 tons would be large enough to disrupt the market in the short term. The International Lead and Zinc Study Group said the zinc market was in a surplus of 166,000 tons in January to August, and the lead market in a surplus of 49,000 tons. The International Aluminum Institute said aluminum inventories fell 2.8% on the month in September to 2.376 million tons.

Oil futures settled higher Tuesday, but a stronger dollar kept a lid on prices despite some upbeat economic data. Light, sweet crude for December delivery settled up 3 cents at $82.55 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange recently traded down 1 cent at $83.53 a barrel. Several economic reports released Tuesday hinted at a strengthening U.S. economy, which would raise future crude demand.

Gold futures fluctuated between gains and losses Tuesday, pressure by a rising dollar but insulated from steep declines as some investors took advantage of recent price dips to pile into the metal. Gold for December delivery most recently advanced 40 cents to $1,339.30 an ounce on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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