04:05 PM EST, 12/03/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes ended mixed Tuesday as traders parsed the official job openings report for October.

* The number of job openings in the US reached about 7.74 million on the last business day of October, up from 7.37 million the previous month, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said. The consensus was for a 7.52 million print in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

On balance, the data indicate "a still strong, albeit cooling," labor market, Oxford Economics said.

* The probability of a 25-basis-point reduction in interest rates at the Federal Reserve's meeting later this month jumped to about 74% Tuesday from 62% Monday, according to the CME FedWatch tool.

* January West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed up $1.19 to settle at $69.29 per barrel, while February Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen up $1.95 to $73.78 on expectations OPEC+ will delay its plan to return its voluntary production cuts to market until April, easing concerns the market could become oversupplied.

* Palantir Technologies ( PLTR ) said it has been granted FedRAMP 'high authorization' for its cloud services, allowing the company to provide its offerings to more US government units. The company's shares were up 7.4%.

* Intel ( INTC ) is considering outside candidates to fill its vacant chief executive position, including Marvell Technology ( MRVL ) CEO Matt Murphy, Bloomberg News reported, citing unnamed sources. Pat Gelsinger retired as Intel ( INTC ) CEO Sunday. Intel ( INTC ) shares fell 6.2%, while Marvell ( MRVL ) was down about 1%.