NEW YORK - Stocks are lower after a rally as investors draw only modest comfort from investor Warren Buffett's decision to buy one of the nation's largest railroads.

Investors are on edge Tuesday amid worries about the stability of major financial firms in Europe.

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is paying $100 a share for Burlington Northern Santa Fe in a deal valuing the railroad at $34 billion.

A rising dollar is hurting commodity prices.

The Dow Jones industrials are down 80 at 9,710. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is down 8 at 1,035, and the Nasdaq composite index is down 15 at 2,034.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

NEW YORK (AP) - U.S. stock futures are recovering from their lows Tuesday after billionaire investor Warren Buffett agreed to buy the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad and Viacom posted strong earnings growth for the third quarter.

Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway is paying $100 a share for Burlington Northern in a deal valuing the railroad at $34 billion. Burlington Northern shares shot up nearly 30 percent in premarket trading.

Stock futures also got a lift as Viacom Inc. posted a 15 percent jump in its third-quarter earnings as solid profits in its movie business helped offset continuing declines in advertising and DVD sales.

In other corporate news, health care products maker Johnson & Johnson announced plans to cut up to 7 percent of its global work force and streamline its business structure to save up to $900 million next year.

Stock futures had been much lower earlier Tuesday, following steep losses in Europe and Asia. European shares fell amid worries about the stability of major financial firms, while stocks in Asia fell overnight, finding little relief in upbeat manufacturing data from the previous day that helped lift U.S. markets.

Ahead of the market's open, Dow Jones industrial average futures fell 41, or 0.4 percent, to 9,694. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell 4.40, or 0.4 percent, to 1,034.70, and Nasdaq 100 index futures fell 7.75, or 0.5 percent, to 1,661.25.

Investors around the globe have been jittery in recent weeks, wary of whether the economic recovery can maintain the same pace once government stimulus measures are removed. That uncertainty has led to wild swings in the market.