*

JOLTS report confirms measured labor market cooldown

*

South Korea's won tumbles against the dollar amid martial

law

*

Crude rises ahead of OPEC+ meeting

*

Yuan drops amid Trump tariff threats

(Updates to mid-afternoon)

By Stephen Culp

NEW YORK, Dec 3 (Reuters) - A surprise declaration of

martial law in Korea that had sent the won plummeting was lifted

on Tuesday, removing one source of geopolitical jitters for

world markets to contend with.

U.S. stocks were muted and range-bound, with the blue-chip

Dow down the most.

"These developments, combined with those in France and the

outcome of the U.S. presidential election, all are creating

uncertainty as investors think about how to position themselves

moving into 2025," said Greg Bassuk, CEO at AXS Investments in

New York.

South Korea's won had tumbled to a two-year low against the

dollar following a declaration of martial law, which was lifted

later in the session, and crude prices gained amid supply

concerns related to OPEC+ output cuts and simmering tensions in

the Middle East.

The Labor Department released its closely monitored Job

Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS), which showed job

openings on the rise and layoffs on the wane, supporting the

notion that the labor market continues its gradual cool-down.

On Friday, the Labor Department is due to release its much

anticipated November employment report, which will be parsed for

clues regarding U.S. Federal Reserve's policy decisions in

December and beyond.

"We're seeing the rally take a pause, with stocks at

all-time highs," Bassuk added. "And there's a host of economic

data on this week's calendar, so investors are taking a

wait-and-see as this week's data will likely impact the Fed's

December rate decision."

Elsewhere, aside from the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and

the Middle East, the French government is on the verge of

collapse following a vote of no confidence from far-right and

left parties.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law to

in what he said was an effort to block efforts of opposition

parties to hijack the parliamentary process. He later reversed

the decision, honoring a parliamentary vote against the measure.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 44.06 points,

or 0.10%, to 44,737.19, the S&P 500 rose 0.79 points, or

0.01%, to 6,048.03 and the Nasdaq Composite rose 38.49

points, or 0.20%, to 19,442.44.

European shares nabbed a one-month high even as political

turmoil in France, which has pushed the French government to the

verge of collapsing, kept investors on edge.

MSCI's gauge of stocks across the globe rose

3.10 points, or 0.36%, to 867.74.

The STOXX 600 index rose 0.37%, while Europe's

broad FTSEurofirst 300 index rose 8.89 points, or 0.44%

Emerging market stocks rose 10.17 points, or

0.94%, to 1,096.56.

The dollar lost ground against a basket of world currencies

as financial markets cemented expectations that the Federal

Reserve will make another interest rate cut at this month's

policy meeting.

But its losses were held in check by France's unfolding

political crisis, and lingering tariff threats from

President-elect Donald Trump.

China's onshore yuan touched its weakest level since the

2008 financial crisis in the face of tariff worries.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback

against a basket of currencies including the yen and the euro,

fell 0.07% to 106.29, with the euro up 0.14% at $1.0512.

The Korean won weakened 0.74% to 1,414.57 per dollar.

Against the Japanese yen, the dollar weakened 0.15%

to 149.38.

Bitcoin was uncharacteristically subdued, prolonging its

flirtation with the elusive and closely watched $100,000 mark.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin fell 0.03% to

$95,382.00. Ethereum declined 1.16% to $3,574.70.

Yields on 10-year Treasuries edged higher in the wake of the

JOLTS report as investors cement their expectations for a 25

basis point rate cut at the conclusion of the Fed's Dec. 17-18

policy meeting.

The yield on benchmark U.S. 10-year notes rose

2.1 basis points to 4.215%, from 4.194% late on Monday.

The 30-year bond yield rose 2.9 basis points to

4.3868% from 4.358% late on Monday.

Crude oil prices gained ground ahead of an expected decision

by OPEC+ to approve continued output cuts.

Oil's advance was also supported by a fragile ceasefire

between Israel and Lebanon.

U.S. crude rose 2.70% to $69.94 per barrel, while

Brent rose to $73.62 per barrel, up 2.49% on the day.

Gold held firm amid firming expectations for a December rate

cut from the Federal Reserve.

Spot gold rose 0.08% to $2,641.05 an ounce. U.S. gold

futures rose 0.39% to $2,645.30 an ounce.