Wall Street have opened mostly higher following lacklustre US retail sales data but an encouraging report on small-business optimism.

Five minutes into trade, the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 25.17 points (0.15 per cent) to 16,720.64.

The broad-based S&P 500 tacked on 1.93 (0.10 per cent) to 1,898.58 while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index slipped 0.68 (0.02 per cent) to 4,143.18.

Both the Dow and S&P 500 notched record closing highs on Monday.

The Commerce Department reported that US retail and food services sales rose a mere 0.1 per cent in April, weaker than the 0.3 per cent gain expected by analysts.

But the National Federation of Independent Businesses said its May index of small-business optimism rose 1.8 points to 95.2, the highest rating since 2007.