01:04 PM EST, 12/03/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes were mixed in midday trading Tuesday after job openings increased more than forecast, posing a headache for the Federal Reserve on an easing path anticipating labor market weakness.

The S&P 500 fell less than 0.1% to 6,045.1, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined less than 0.1% to 44,760.4, while the Nasdaq Composite rose 0.1% to 19,423.5. All three indexes traded close to their recent record highs. Communication services and technology were among the gainers intraday, while industrials and financials led the decliners.

US job openings rose to 7.744 million in October, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Tuesday, handily beating the 7.519 million openings expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. The openings increased from 7.372 million reported in September. The October figure represents 4.6% of total employment, up from 4.4% in September but down from 5.2% a year earlier.

Investors now await Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler and Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee's comments, also due Tuesday, after Fed Governor Christopher Waller, seen by most as a hawkish rate-setter, said late Monday that he supported an interest-rate cut in December. Waller said rates could fall by 100 basis points before the end of next September.

The probability of a 25 basis-point rate cut in December was 72% on Tuesday afternoon versus 62% a day ago, according to the CME Group's FedWatch Tool. The remaining likelihood of 28% was for the Fed to pause at the current target range versus 38% a day earlier.

Further, in economic news, Redbook US same-store sales jumped 7.4% from a year earlier in the week ended Nov. 30 after a 4.9% year-over-year increase in the previous week. Redbook noted brisk sales on Black Friday and the weekend, signaling strong demand.

US Treasury yields were mixed, with the 10-year up 1.7 basis points to 4.21% and the two-year rate down 3.3 basis points to 4.17%.

In company news, Palantir Technologies ( PLTR ) said it received FedRAMP 'high authorization' for its cloud services, opening the door for more of its offerings to US government units. Palantir's ( PLTR ) shares were up more than 5.2% intraday, the top gainer on the S&P 500.

Microchip Technology ( MCHP ) said late Monday it expects its fiscal Q3 revenue to be close to the low end of its previously outlined guidance range of $1.03 billion to $1.10 billion. Analysts polled by FactSet are looking for $1.06 billion. Shares dropped 4.8% intraday, among the worst on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

Intel ( INTC ) Chief Executive Officer Pat Gelsinger has retired, and there is "no clear successor" to replace him, a Wedbush Securities note said Tuesday. Shares of Intel ( INTC ) were down 5.7% intraday, among the steepest decliners on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq.

Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude oil futures jumped 3.1% to $70.19 a barrel.

OPEC+, the world's largest cartel of crude oil producers, will stage a virtual ministerial meeting on Thursday to decide if it will go ahead with a plan to return 2.2 million barrels per day of production cuts to the market, adding 180,000 barrels per day of additional supply monthly beginning in January. However, Reuters, citing OPEC+ sources, reported the group is likely to postpone the plan until the end of Q1, easing over-supply worries as prices remain rangebound amid weak demand from China.

Gold rose 0.4% to $2,668.81 an ounce, and silver climbed 2% to $31.49 an ounce.