Spanish stocks fell Monday as the political standoff between Madrid and the Catalan region wore on, but a drop in the euro appeared to provide a lift to other European markets. The Stoxx Europe 600 index SXXP, +0.16% ended 0.2% higher at 390.74, for a second straight session of gains.

The S&P 500 and the Dow snapped a six-day winning streak on Monday as investors weighed prospects for tax cuts while parsing the latest corporate earnings for clues on where stocks are headed in the near term.

Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 Index NIK, +0.14% was pushing Tuesday toward a 16th consecutive rise, having posted a 0.17% gain to the 21,733.10 level. The yen, meanwhile, rebounded against the U.S. dollar USDJPY, -0.06% overnight and gained a bit in the Asian session.