Wall Street mixed after tech falls

The Dow closed within 0.5% of its record high despite a largely soft day of trade on US markets as investors continued to shy away from so-called momentum stocks.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average bucked the losing trend to add 32.43 points, or 0.20%, to 16,550.97.

Meanwhile, the broad-based S&P 500 gave up 2.58 points, or 0.14% to 1,875.63 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index yielded 16.18 points, or 0.40%, to 4,051.50.

Electric car maker Tesla Motors was one of the biggest losers on the day, giving up 10% on an earnings result that failed to meet expectations. Facebook and Apple were also laggards on the Nasdaq, though Twitter recovered from a miserable run of losses to rebound 5%.

Economic data was light on, with weekly jobless claims the main focus.

The number of people filing for unemployment benefits fell sharply, improving perceptions of the US labour market.

Meanwhile, Fed chair Janet Yellen wrapped up her two-day Congress testimony, making the case that the US economy was on much stronger footing with businesses ramping up hiring and investment plans.

Offshore, the European Central Bank and the Bank of England both opted to hold rates at record lows, however the ECB hinted at a rate cut in the near future.