The Dow and the S&P 500 declined after rising bond yields increased debate over how soon the Federal Reserve would start trimming its stimulus programme.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI slipped 32.43 points, or 0.21 percent, to end at 15,750.67. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index .SPX dropped 4.20 points, or 0.24 percent, to finish at 1,767.69. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC eked out a tiny gain of just 0.13 of a point to close at 3,919.92.
European shares edged lower drifting away from near five-year highs, after a spate of disappointing company updates confirmed the trend of weak demand and poor revenues in the quarterly earnings season.
The pan-European FTSEurofirst was down 0.3 percent at 1,294.38, 1.4 percent down from five-year highs hit last Thursday, but still up 16.5 percent since June.
Meanwhile, Japanese stocks rose to a near three-week high as exporters benefited from a softer yen although contractors sagged after their earnings disappointed the market.
The benchmark Nikkei share average rose 2.2 percent to 14,588.68, the highest since Oct. 23 and posted the biggest daily percentage gain since early September. The Topix rose 1.7 percent to 1,205.41, with all of its 33 sub-sectors in positive territory.
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