Wall Street stocks posted modest gains on Tuesday amid cautious trading on the anniversary of the beginning of the market's rebound from its lows last year.

Investors were cautious as Wall Street marked the anniversary of the stock market's 12-year low set on March 9, 2009, amid the financial crisis stemming from a home mortgage meltdown.

Since then, the blue-chip Dow index has rallied more than 60 per cent.

With little in the way of economic reports or earnings to help drive shares higher, investors are taking a breather after major indices rose the past few weeks.

At 0636 AEDT, with almost 90 minutes of Tuesday trade remaining, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 41.19 points, or 0.39 per cent, at 10,593.71 points.

The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index was up 5.44 points, or 0.48 per cent, at 1,143.94 points.

The Nasdaq composite index was up 16.31 points, or 0.70 per cent, at 2,348.52.

LONDON - European stocks ended little changed on Tuesday amid uncertainty over Europe's economic recovery.

The FTSE 100 index fell 4.42 points, or 0.08 per cent, at 5,602.30 points.

FRANKFURT - The DAX 40 Dax rose 9.98 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 5,885.89 points.

PARIS - The CAC 40 rose 6.47 points, or 0.17 per cent, to 3,910.01.

TOKYO - Japanese stocks fell on Tuesday on profit-taking after the market hit a six-week high the day before, while shares of Fujitsu extended losses on a dispute with its former president.

But makers of 3-D TVs, Panasonic Corp and Sony Corp, gained after outlining their sales plans for what they hope will become the next hot product in the electronics industry.

In light trade, the benchmark Nikkei shed 18.27 points, or 0.2 per cent, to close at 10,567.65 points, after hitting its highest close since January 22 on Monday.

The broader Topix fell 2.93 points, or 0.3 per cent, to 924.38.

HONG KONG - Hong Kong stocks ended flat on Tuesday, consolidating gains from recent sessions as the market moved in and out of positive territory in directionless trade.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index ended up 10.68 points, or 0.05 per cent, at 21,207.55 points. Turnover was $HK58.49 billion ($A8.28 billion)

The index has risen almost three per cent so far this month.

WELLINGTON - The New Zealand share market eased on Tuesday, turning its back on nine consecutive days of gains despite the release of positive results from two of the smaller companies.

The benchmark NZX-50 index closed down 9.6 points, or 0.3 per cent, at 3,213.2.