US stocks have closed mixed after a day of bumpy trade, with the Nasdaq gaining ground while the Dow blue chips bowed to selling pressure.

Hints that a rescue plan for Spain was imminent gave share prices an opening boost, but that lost steam amid the lack of any concrete news.

At the closing bell the broad-based S&P 500 was up 1.25 points (0.09 per cent) at 1445.74, and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite gained 6.51 points (0.21 per cent) to 3120.04.

But the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average dropped 32.83 points (0.24 per cent) to 13,482.28.