The S&P 500 rose slightly as investors hunted for bargains a day after a steep sell-off, while the Nasdaq was flat and another delay for Boeing's 787 Dream liner kept the Dow in the red.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 16.10 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 8,322.91. But the Standard & Poor's 500 Index gained 2.06 points, or 0.23 percent, to finish at 895.10. The Nasdaq Composite Index shed 1.27 points, or 0.07 percent, to end at 1,764.92.

European shares fell to their lowest close in nearly six weeks, with financials suffering most, and with home sales data in the United States casting further doubt on the strength of the economic recovery.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares fell 0.4 percent to 833.67 points, the lowest close since May 13. But it is still up more than 29 percent from its lifetime low on March 9.

Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 2.8 percent as investors moved to unload riskier assets after they were rattled by falls in overseas markets and worry about the global economy.

The benchmark Nikkei fell 276.66 points to 9,549.61, at one point slipping as far as 9,511.45, its lowest since early June and a drop of over 3 percent.