European stocks finished with gains on Monday, helped by Italian banks after that country's government stepped in to shut down two failed lenders, and as Nestlé SA rallied after a hedge fund snapped up a big stake in the consumer-products giant.

The Dow industrials on Monday ended a string of daily losses at four, but the Nasdaq Composite faltered, putting pressure on the broader market. For the first half of 2017, the benchmark S&P 500 is on track to advance about 9%, with some analysts suggesting that the second half will likely be positive as well.

Global shares were higher in Asia-Pacific trade Tuesday, lifted in part by a stronger U.S. dollar, though markets in Australia bucked the trend due to declines in utility and mining stocks. Spot gold prices were recently down 0.2%, extending losses after Monday's flash crash, which was caused by suspected human error. It plunged 1% shortly after the opening call in London on Monday and traded about 1.8 million troy ounces in a minute, "which is more than the volumes traded seen during recent global risk events," noted ANZ Research.