The US stocks turned marginally lower amid lack of major economic cues and worries over the fiscal front. The Dow fell 114.83 points or 0.3% to 42,677.24, the Nasdaq slid 72.75 points or 0.4% to 19,142.71 and the S&P 500 declined 23.14 points or 0.4% to 5,940.46.
Asia-Pacific region stocks moved mostly higher. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index edged up by 0.1%, while China's Shanghai Composite Index rose by 0.4% and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 1.5%. The major European markets too moved upwards while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.9%, the French CAC 40 Index increased by 0.8% and the German DAX Index climbed by 0.4%.
In the bond market, treasuries bounced back near the unchanged line after an early slump. As a result, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note which moves opposite of its price, inched up by less than a basis point to 4.48% after reaching a high of 4.52%.