US benchmark equity indexes were mixed ahead of Wednesday's close as markets parsed the latest labor market data and minutes from the Federal Reserve's December meeting.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.1% at 42,559.1, while the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.3% to 19,440.2. The S&P 500 was little changed at 5,906.5. Among sectors, health care led the gainers, while communication services posted the biggest drop.

US stock markets will be closed Thursday to mark the passing of former President Jimmy Carter.

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

Weekly applications for unemployment insurance in the US unexpectedly dropped, while continuing claims rose, government data showed.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to report Friday that the US economy added 163,000 nonfarm jobs last month, which would mark a drop from the 227,000 gain posted in the month prior, according to a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

The US 10-year yield decreased 1.4 basis points to 4.67%, while the two-year rate dropped 2.1 basis points to 4.27%.

The Federal Open Market Committee agreed that it was nearing the point where it could slow the pace of rate cuts after reducing the policy rate by 25 basis points at its December meeting, meeting minutes showed.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 1.1% to $73.42 a barrel.