US stocks have closed mostly lower a day after a record-setting surge spurred by the Federal Reserve easing stimulus.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged up 11.11 points (0.07 per cent) to 16,179.08, a new record.

The broad-based S&P 500 slipped 1.05 (0.06 per cent) to 1,809.60, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index fell 11.93 (0.29 per cent) to 4,058.13.

Mace Blicksilver, director of Marblehead Asset Management, said stocks sometimes retreat by much greater margins the day after a big rally.

On Wednesday, the Dow rose nearly two per cent.

“The market did pretty well,” Blicksilver said.

“I don’t know that there are any more gains for this year,” Blicksilver said.

“But if they could park this market sideways between now and December 31st, I think everyone would be ecstatic.”

Retail giant Target fell 2.2 per cent after disclosing that it suffered a security breach in which some 40 million credit and debt card accounts may have been affected.

The company said it is “working closely with law enforcement and financial institutions, and has identified and resolved the issue.”

Consultancy Accenture rose 5.1 per cent after earnings bested expectations by six cents at $US1.15 per share.

The company also boosted its full-year profit forecast on expectations of higher sales.

Darden Restaurants fell 3.6 per cent after earnings sank 41 per cent to $US19.8 million ($A22.41 million).

The company trimmed its 2014 sales forecast for its Red Lobster, Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse chains.

The company also announced plans to cut spending and separate its Red Lobster business, potentially in a tax-free spinoff.

Information technology giant Oracle powered 5.8 per cent higher after earnings came in two cents above expectations at 71 US cents per share.

Facebook shares dropped 0.9 per cent after the company announced a stock offering of 70 million shares.

The stock sales includes 27 million shares from Facebook and 41.4 million shares from chief executive Mark Zuckerberg.

Carnival jumped 2.5 per cent after reporting earnings of four cents per share, above the forecast for a break-even performance.

The company expects net 2014 revenues to be “down slightly” compared with the prior year.

Bond prices were mixed.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury rose to 2.93 per cent from 2.89 per cent on Wednesday, while the 30-year fell to 3.90 per cent from 3.91 per cent.

Bond prices and yields move inversely.