04:02 PM EST, 01/08/2025 (MT Newswires) -- US benchmark equity indexes ended mixed Wednesday as markets parsed the latest labor market data and comments by a Federal Reserve governor.

* Fed Governor Christopher Waller said that he expects inflation to ease to policymakers' 2% target over the medium term and that further monetary policy easing will be "appropriate."

"After a period of rapid disinflation in 2022 and 2023, progress appears to have stalled in the final months of 2024," Waller said.

* Private employment in the US advanced by 122,000 jobs in December, Automatic Data Processing ( ADP ) data showed Wednesday. That was lower than a 139,000 rise expected in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

"The labor market downshifted to a more modest pace of growth in the final month of 2024, with a slowdown in both hiring and pay gains," ADP Chief Economist Nela Richardson said.

* February West Texas Intermediate crude oil closed down $0.91 to settle at $73.35 per barrel, while March Brent crude, the global benchmark, was last seen down $0.85 to $76.20 despite a report showing a drop in US inventories while OPEC+ supplies fell last month.

* Meta Platforms ( META ) said it will roll out a test in the US, France and Germany for buyers to browse eBay ( EBAY ) listings on Facebook Marketplace and then complete the transactions on eBay ( EBAY ). EBay ( EBAY ) shares jumped 10%, while Meta dropped 1.4%.

* Edison International ( EIX ) shares fell 11% as wildfires raged on in Los Angeles. The company has turned off power for nearly 157,000 customers, or 3.1% of its total customer base of 5 million, according to the company's power outage page.