Stocks anemic for 10th straight session

U.S. stock markets were sluggish Tuesday morning, as European finances continued to undermine confidence. Yields on benchmark 10-year bonds in Spain rose to 5.88 percent after peaking above 5.9 percent, as the government announced a new round of austerity measures. The proposed combination of tax hikes and spending cuts would trim the budget deficit by an additional $13 billion. In late March, the government announced plans to trim the deficit by $30 billion. In midmorning trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average gave back early gains, falling 63.27 points or 0.49 percent to 12,866.32. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index gave up 8.26 points or 0.72 percent to 3,038.82. The Standard and Poor's 500 index shed 5.86 points or 0.42 percent to 1,376.34. The 10-year treasury note rose 11/32 to yield 2.014 percent. The euro fell to $1.3088 from Monday's $1.3106. Against the yen, the dollar dropped to 80.96 yen from Monday's 81.49 yen. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index shed 0.09 percent, 8.24, to 9,538.02.