Wall Street closes mixed

US stocks have closed mostly lower following mixed economic data and with markets keeping an eye on the growing Iraq crisis.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average had shed 9.82 points, or 0.06%, to 16,937.26.

The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 0.26 of a point, or 0.01%, to 1,962.61, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index bucked the trend to inch up 0.64 of a point, or 0.01%, to 4,368.68, a 14-year closing high.

For the Dow and S&P 500 the session brought to an end a six-day winning streak, which culminated in fresh records on Friday.

In US economic news, sales of existing homes surged 4.9% in May in the best monthly gain for three years. The data suggest the US housing recovery may be picking up steam once again.

Meanwhile, HSBC bank said its preliminary purchasing managers index (PMI) for China, which tracks activity in factories and workshops in the world's second-biggest economy, came in at 50.8 in June, the highest level since November.

But the good news in China and the US was offset by disappointing data from Europe.

Markit Economics said eurozone composite PMI for June, a leading indicator of overall economic activity, slipped to 52.8 points from 53.5 in May, coming in at the weakest level since December.

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State John Kerry met with Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki as Iraqi security forces struggle to hold their ground in the face of an insurgent onslaught that has seized major areas of the country in the past two weeks and a border crossing with Syria.

The upheaval in Iraq has been a major factor in the rise of oil prices to nine-month highs.