U.S. stocks opened little changed on Tuesday as fighting in Libya, Japan's nuclear crisis and the chances for a European interest rate hike next month made investors nervous.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> was up 1.02 points, or 0.01 percent, at 12,037.55. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was down 0.63 point, or 0.05 percent, at 1,297.75. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> was up 0.09 point at 2,692.18.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Kenneth Barry)