Wall Street stocks have finished mixed as a better-than-expected US jobs report helped offset anxiety over Ukraine that sent European equities lower.

At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 27.33 (0.17 per cent) to 16,449.22.

The broad-based S&P 500 edged 0.73 (0.04 per cent) higher to 1,877.76, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 15.90 (0.37 per cent) to 3,703.40.

The monthly US jobs report said the economy added 175,000 jobs in February, an improvement after jobs growth had plummeted the prior two months.

But Ukranian tensions continued to “fester,” said a market note from Charles Schwab. Markets in Britain, France and Germany all moved sharply lower following a threat from Russian gas company Gazprom to halt deliveries to Ukraine.

Brent Schutte, strategist at BMO Global Asset Management, said stocks were taking a break after the recent surge.

“We’ve come a long way in the markets the last few weeks so it’s just taking a breather,” Schutte said.