U.S. stocks were little changed in a choppy session on Tuesday as markets reacted to headlines about Europe's debt crisis and digested data showing the U.S. economy grew more slowly than previously thought.

The U.S. economy grew at a 2 percent annual rate in the third quarter, down from the government's prior estimate of 2.5 percent one month ago.

Stocks rebounded from earlier lows after the International Monetary Fund said it strengthened lending tools and introduced a six-month liquidity line, throwing help to countries at risk from the euro zone crisis.

The Federal Open Market Committee releases minutes from its November 1-2 meeting at 2 p.m. (1900 GMT).

Worries about debt problems in the United States and Europe pushed the benchmark S&P 500 down more than 5 percent over the past week.

Maybe some things are calming down in Europe. That was the reason for yesterday's selloff. It may be people kind of reassessing their reaction to Europe news and just coming back to basically the U.S. numbers having been pretty decent for about a month now, said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois.

A lot will depend on the FOMC minutes that come out later today.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 2.27 points, or 0.02 percent, to 11,545.04. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> gained 1.23 points, or 0.10 percent, to 1,194.21. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> added 4.03 points, or 0.16 percent, to 2,527.17.

Spain's short-term borrowing costs hit a 14-year high on Tuesday as political uncertainty about a solution to the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis punished another vulnerable southern European country.

Late Monday, the two leaders of a special U.S. congressional committee said the panel failed to reach a deal on reducing government deficits. Investors are worried the stalemate will make it more difficult to pass extensions of measures like payroll tax cuts that could help stimulate the economy.

The S&P has fallen through a key support level at 1,200 but again managed to hold near 1,187, seen as the next technical support, representing the 61.8 percent retracement of the 2011 high to low.

Hewlett-Packard Co dropped 3.3 percent to $25.97 as the worst performer on the Dow after the computer and printer maker gave a 2012 profit outlook that was below consensus late Monday.

Trading volume is likely to be thin this week as global uncertainties and the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday keep many investors on the sidelines.

Campbell Soup Co reported first-quarter earnings that beat expectations while sales were slightly below consensus, sending the stock down 4.5 percent to $32.11.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Kenneth Barry)