U.S. stock market indexes moved up slightly as trading began on Wednesday.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 15 points to reach 10,740.
The S&P 500 advanced one point at 1,203, while the NASDAQ gained two points to hit 2,089. European share prices are higher in midday trading, with London's Financial Times 100 index gaining five points to hit 5,000.
The French news agency (AFP) says it is the first time the FTSE has broken the 5,000 level in more than two years. The CAC-40 in Paris and the DAX index in Frankfurt moved up one-tenth of a percent or more.
Earlier in Asia, Tokyo's Nikkei index lost 17 points to finish at 11,473. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng was closed for a public holiday.
The price of gold lost more than a dollar and a half, trading at 411 dollars and 11 cents an ounce in New York.
The dollar in London is lower against the yen and the euro.
