U.S. stocks are drifting around their records Thursday following the latest signals that the U.S. economy continues to hum.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose on Wednesday and closed at a record high, and Wall Street's two other benchmark indexes also ended higher, weathering declines in megacap tech shares thanks to small-caps gains and financial shares buoyed by strong earnings.

China shares fell as investors digested much weaker-than-expected export data released late Monday. Japan's market jumped as its semiconductor firms followed Nvidia upward.

It may be time for stock-market investors to “look tactically at downside risk into month-end,” says a top Wall Street technical analyst.

Wall Street shares steadied Wednesday after a tech selloff the previous day over concerns about the red-hot semiconductor industry.

U.S. equity futures were mixed in early Wednesday trading, while tech shares looked to rebound from yesterday's late-session slump, as investors continue to defend the market's solid autumn rally heading into the start of the third quarter earnings season.