Stimulus talk fails to rally Europe markets

LONDON, England (CNN) -- European markets were mixed on Tuesday, following increases in some Asian markets and on Wall Street.

Investors in Asia were buoyed by talk of a second economic stimulus package in the United States.

But the most influential European markets fell back after earlier rises.

In London, the FTSE 100 was down by just under 1 percent at 1230 GMT. The CAC 40 in Paris showed a two percent gain in morning trading but it was later fell back slightly, while Frankfurt's XETRA DAX was down by about 1 percent.

Asian-Pacific markets were mixed, but mostly higher on Tuesday.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei finished the day up 3.3 percent -- a third straight session in positive territory. In Australia, the All Ordinaries index gained 3.7 percent.

South Korea's KOSPI closed down about a percent, while the Hang Seng index in Hong Kong was off 1.8 percent.

The Taiwan Weighted gained less than a quarter a percent. In Singapore, the Straits Times index was down a percent and India's BSE SENSEX in Mumbai was up a solid four percent in afternoon trading.

Stocks surged on Wall Street Monday, with the Dow climbing back above the 9,000 level.

The Dow Jones industrial average added 413 points, or 4.7 percent, putting it at No. 8 on the list of all-time biggest one-session point gains.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 4.8 percent, and the Nasdaq composite added 3.4 percent.

Investors cheered comments from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke Monday that suggested a second economic stimulus package could be up for discussion. Additionally, comments from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and an improvement in lending rates added heft to bets that the credit market freeze is starting to thaw.

Paulson released a statement Monday that said a "broad group of banks" is interested in participating in the government's plan to invest $250 billion directly into lending institutions -- a move that should make credit easier by taking bad debt off the balance sheets of major lenders.

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