US stocks vary as weakness in Microsoft Corp pulled the major indexes lower, while investors braced for the start of quarterly earnings season.

The Dow Jones industrial average went up 14.81 points, or 0.18 percent, to 8,178.1. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index fall 1.47 points, or 0.17 percent, to 879.56. The Nasdaq Composite Index went up 1 point, or 0.06 percent, to 1,747.17.

European shares fall at noon, losing ground for the fifth straight session, as investors digested further confirmation that significant economic recovery is still some way off.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares is down 0.5 percent at 822.15 points, and had hit a 10-week low of 820.01 earlier. The fifth consecutive drop also marked the index's longest losing streak since mid-January.

Japan's Nikkei average fell 2.35 percent to a six-week closing low, hurt by an unexpected slide in domestic machinery orders and as the yen rose to seven-week highs against the dollar on talk of more stimulus for the US economy.

The benchmark Nikkei lost 227.04 points to 9,420.75, its lowest close since May 26.