04:01 PM EST, 01/06/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes ended mixed Monday ahead of this week's labor market data and quarterly earnings.

* This week's data releases include fresh job openings and hiring figures Tuesday. ADP private payrolls and the Dec. 17-18 Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes are due Wednesday. Thursday's schedule includes Challenger layoff intentions, leading to the release of the nonfarm employment report on Friday.

* Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook urged monetary policymakers to proceed "more cautiously" with interest rate cuts, given the Fed's 100 basis points of policy easing since September.

* "Price increases have cooled notably over the past two and a half years, but, despite this significant progress on disinflation, there is still further to go before reaching our inflation target of 2%," Cook said.

* February West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed down $0.56 to settle at $73.40 per barrel, while March Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $0.31 to $76.20 despite expectations that stimulus measures introduced by China last week will boost demand.

* United States Steel ( X ) and Japan's Nippon Steel jointly filed a lawsuit challenging President Joe Biden's decision to block their deal. US Steel's shares were up 8.1%.

* Walt Disney ( DIS ) agreed to merge its Hulu + Live TV business with FuboTV ( FUBO ) in a deal that will give the media and entertainment a 70% stake in its streaming peer and settle litigation related to the proposed Venu Sports venture. FuboTV ( FUBO ) surged 244%.