The Dow shed two-tenths of a percent, the S&P 500 dipped fractionally and the Nasdaq added three-tenths.

The Labor Department's JOLTS report showed job openings dropped in October to the lowest level since early 2021.

Meanwhile, shares of interest rate-sensitive megacaps helped boost the Nasdaq, with Nvidia and Apple each gaining more than 2% as Treasury yields dipped to multi-month lows - something Michael Mullaney, Director of Global Markets Research at Boston Partners, calls "relatively remarkable" given that the 10-year Treasury yield spiked to more that 5% just over a month ago.

"The other thing that's kind of, you know, head scratching for me, and I think for the firm, is the way Fed fund futures are operating right now, and that they are anticipating up to six different cuts in 2024 for the Federal Reserve. And I just don't see that happening. And you know, the Fed right now as far as their own dot plot is only at 2. It'll be interesting to see this on the 13th of December, when the Fed has their FOMC meeting, if they throw some cold water on these expectations in the in the Fed futures market."

On Friday, the non-farm payrolls report for November may offer greater clarity on the Fed's monetary policy path.

In other company news, shares of Take-Two Interactive Software dipped 0.5% after a trailer of the latest installment of its best-selling "Grand Theft Auto" videogame franchise was released.

And shares of CVS Health jumped more than 3.5% after forecasting 2024 revenue above Wall Street estimates, as the company expects to benefit from its expansion into health services.