Apple jumped 2.6 percent following reports it is close to a deal on producing its own autonomous vehicles in cooperation with South Korean giant Hyundai. Neither company commented on the reports.
The number of virus cases continues to soar in Japan and Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga urged people to avoid gatherings, saying "the virus has no holidays".
The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2 percent at 30,046.37, while the broad-based S&P 500 declined 0.1 percent and the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index shed 0.3 percent.