US stocks closed in mixed territory on Thursday, with the Nasdaq Composite once more buoyed by renewed interest in chipmakers and designers like Nvidia.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.4 percent to end at a new record of 43,239.05, while the S&P 500 Index lost less than 0.1 percent to close at 5,841.47.

Meantime, the Nasdaq Composite Index rose less than 0.1 percent to close at 18,373.61, as chip design titan Nvidia saw its share price rise 0.9 percent on the back of a 9.8 percent rise in chipmaker TSMC's shares on strong third quarter results.

Traders were also digesting fresh data published on Thursday showing an acceleration in retail sales last month, and another interest rate cut from the European Central Bank (ECB).

Mill Street Research chief strategist Sam Burns told AFP that the positive economic news in the US, and rate cut in Europe, had helped stocks to return to near all-time highs.

"Earnings reports so far have been pretty good and there doesn't seem to be too much concern, at least so far, about the election and things like that," he said.

Among other firms, streaming giant Netflix's shares rose in after-hours trading after it announced it had topped earnings expectations in the third quarter. (AFP)