Global markets slide
British and German markets close lower while French plan to inject billions into banks lifts Paris stocks. Asian markets mixed.
LONDON (CNNMoney.com) -- Global stock indexes mostly fell Tuesday, as the positive sentiment stemming from France's plan to inject $14 billion in banks and talk of a second economic stimulus package in the United States faded.
Major European markets opened in positive territory, tracking an overnight rise on Wall Street. But Europe's major gauges closed lower, with the exception of France's CAC-40.
Britain's FTSE 100 and Germany's XETRA DAX both fell more than 1%. But Paris shares closed up 0.8% after the French government said it would invest $14 billion into the country's six largest banks to help stabilize the economy.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei posted gains for a third straight session. The index finished the day up 3.3%.
But other markets in the region were down. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong fell nearly 2%, and South Korea's KOSPI closed down about 1%.
On Wall Street, stocks tumbled in afternoon trade as investors mulled mixed corporate earnings and pulled back following a big rally in the previous session.
The market welcomed sings that credit conditions were improving but lackluster earnings from large blue-chip companies dampened the sentiment.
Chemical manufacturer DuPont (DD, Fortune 500) reported a big drop in earnings due to manufacturing disruptions in the wake of Hurricane Ike and warned that full-year earnings will fall short of estimates.
Fellow Dow component Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500) reported lower earnings and higher revenue versus a year ago.
On the upside, 3M (MMM, Fortune 500) said quarterly sales were higher and earnings topped estimates. And drugmaker Pfizer's (PFE, Fortune 500) quarterly earnings were better than expected.
Companies scheduled to post earnings after Tuesday's U.S. close were Apple (AAPL, Fortune 500) and Yahoo.
The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average jumped back above 9,000 Monday and finished the session up 4.6%. The S&P surged 4.8% while the Nasdaq rose 3.4%.
Investors cheered fresh signs that the combination of low interest rates and unprecedented steps by governments around the world to shore up banks with billions of dollars of new capital appears to be working.
Banks are lending more to each other and to companies - functions that are core to any working economy. While bank-to-bank interest rates are still high, they are lower than they have previously been.
Markets were also buoyed by a suggestion from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that a second U.S. stimulus package might be in order.
CNN Wires contributed to this report. 
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