NEW YORK (AFP) - Wall Street stocks on Tuesday shook off much of the negative momentum from Asian and European equity markets, finishing the day mixed after a bruising open.

At the closing bell, the broad-based S&P 500 stood at 2,059.72, down 0.59 points (0.03 per cent) after tumbling as low as 2,034.17 earlier in the session.

The blue-chip index, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 0.29 per cent lower, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index tacked on 0.54 per cent.