Europe's main stock benchmark closed lower Tuesday, albeit well off session lows, after explosions at the Brussels Airport and a local subway station left dozens dead and injured.

U.S. stocks gave up meager gains to end slightly lower Tuesday as a decline in financial and consumer-staples shares weighed on the main benchmarks. Wall Street spent most of the session lower as investors wrestled with the fallout from deadly attacks in Belgium.

Equity markets in the Asia-Pacific region were largely quiet on Wednesday, despite losses in Europe following the deadly attacks in Brussels. Analysts say investors are reluctant to place large bets ahead of the Good Friday and Easter holidays.

Based on MarketWatch materials