Wall Street ends mixed, as data knocks European shares

US stocks closed mixed on Tuesday as investors waited for clarity on European Central Bank plans to shore up heavily indebted countries, but late gains by Apple Inc helped buoy equities off the day's lows.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 54.90 points, or 0.42 percent, to 13,035.94. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index dropped 1.64 points, or 0.12 percent, to 1,404.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 8.09 points, or 0.26 percent, to 3,075.06.

European shares fell after weak US manufacturing data weighed on sentiment and added to market uncertainty in the run up to this week's key European Central Bank meeting.

The FTSEurofirst 300 ended down 1.1 percent at 1,079.81 points, albeit in thin trading volume of just 62 percent of the 90-day daily average.

In Asia, Nikkei average index eased slightly to end at a four-week closing low for the third session in a row, though the eye-catching move of the day was the 12.4 percent rebound in shares of embattled TV maker Sharp Corp.

The Nikkei eased 0.1 percent to 8,775.51. The broader Topix slipped 0.3 percent to 726.69.