US stocks closed mixed on Monday, with traders bracing for Nvidia earnings later this week, and piling into Tesla on reports that President-elect Donald Trump could ease regulation on self-driving vehicles.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.1 percent to 43,389.60, while the S&P 500 Index rose 0.4 percent to 5,893.62.

The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 0.6 percent to 18,791.81, buoyed by a jump in the share price of electric vehicle maker Tesla.

The company's share price jumped 5.6 percent following a Bloomberg News report over the weekend that Trump is looking to ease the restrictions on self-driving cars, which could benefit Tesla -- which is run by Trump-backer Elon Musk.

But elsewhere, it was "a relatively unremarkable day, in terms of magnitude of move," said Art Hogan from B. Riley Wealth Management, adding that this wasn't surprising, citing the post-election market "explosion," and the subsequent drawback last week.

"We kind of entered the new week at a midpoint with very little economic data," he said.

Traders are also looking ahead to earnings from chip designing titan Nvidia after markets close on Wednesday. (AFP)