Mubarak speech sparks late gain; Cisco hits Dow

The S&P and Nasdaq eked out gains in the final minutes of trading as Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said he would delegate powers to the vice president.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 10.60 points, or 0.09 percent, at 12,229.29. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 0.99 points, or 0.07 percent, at 1,321.87. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.38 points, or 0.05 percent, at 2,790.45.

European shares fell for the third straight session, hit by disappointment with several corporate results, including those from Credit Suisse, Diageo and Air France-KLM.

The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index ended down 0.2 percent at 1,169.31 points after trading as low as 1,159.85. It hit a 29-month high on Monday and had since fallen on three straight days, though is still up 4.2 percent this year.

Japan's Nikkei average edged lower as investors kept taking profits on a recent rise in share prices and amid wariness about overheating in the market.

Nikkei 225 February options contracts settled at 10,561.41, according to the Osaka Securities Exchange, and traders said that level could provide immediate support.