An unexpected decline in a closely-watched gauge of U.S. consumer confidence weighed on stocks Tuesday even though it did little to dampen expectations that the U.S. economic recovery is picking up steam.

The Conference Board reported that its main consumer confidence index fell to 52.5 in December from an upwardly revised 54.3 the previous month amid ongoing concerns over jobs. The decline was unexpected — the consensus in the markets was for the index to push up to 56.

Though stock markets in both Europe and the U.S. pushed lower following the survey, the response was fairly muted because the it contrasted with the general thrust of recent economic data out of the U.S., especially after the agreement between the Obama administration and the Republicans in Congress to extend due-to-expire tax cuts.

"We expect an uptrend in consumer spirits to remain in place for the foreseeable future," said Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist at MFR Inc.

In Europe, France's CAC-40 was barely a point lower at 3,861.32 while Germany's DAX was around 9 points lower at 6,961.85. British markets were closed for a holiday.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average was down 7.27 points at 11,547.76 soon after the open while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell less than a point to 1,256.86.

Aside from the state of the U.S. economy, investors continued to evaluate the effects of China's decision over the weekend to raise its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 5.81 percent — its second increase in just over two months.