The Nasdaq index was given a boost by Facebook, which rose a blistering 29.61 percent after advertising revenue for mobile devices was reported up 76 percent, climbing to $656 million.

The Nasdaq index added 25.59 points or 0.71 percent to 3,605.19. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 4.31 points or 0.26 percent to 1,690.25.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,751 issues advanced, while 1,319 declined on volume of 3.3 billion shares.

The 10-year treasury note rose 3/32 to yield 2.578 percent.

Japan's Nikkei index shed 1.14 percent or 168.35 points to 14,562.63.

In Britain, the FTSE 100 index dropped 0.49 percent or 32.48 points to 6,587.95.

In after-hours trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, crude oil was up 22 cents or 0.21 percent to $105.61 a barrel.

Gold added $14 or 1.06 percent to close at $1,334.10 per troy ounce on the NYMEX Comex division while silver gained 18.5 cents to close at $20.205.

On currency markets, the euro was lower at $1.3278. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 99.33 yen.

On the Chicago Board of Trade, December corn was off 2 to $4.78 1/4, November soybeans were off 32 3/4 to settle at $12.24 and September wheat was off 4 3/4 to $6.48 1/2.