US stock markets wobbled and gold hit fresh highs Tuesday as traders kept a nervous eye on US President Donald Trump's next tariff moves and worried about inflation and interest rates.

European markets rose, with both Frankfurt and London again setting records, while Asian equity markets struggled for direction.

All three major US indices had opened lower, but the Dow finished positive and the S&P 500 ended unchanged. The Nasdaq dropped 0.4 percent.

LBBW's Karl Haeling said the market's ability to avoid a major selloff amid the tariff uncertainty reflected "underlying optimism" about economic conditions in spite of tariff and interest rate uncertainty.