STORY: The S&P 500 and Nasdaq eked out record closing highs on Tuesday, with tech-related shares extending recent gains.

While the Dow dipped almost two-tenths of a percent, the S&P ticked up slightly and the Nasdaq added four-tenths of a percent.

A report on Tuesday showed U.S. job openings increased solidly in October while layoffs dropped by the most in one-and-a-half years.

Two Federal Reserve policymakers categorized the job market as "solid" and said they see inflation heading down to the central bank's 2% target.

But neither indicated whether the Fed would deliver a rate cut at its policy meeting later this month.

Traders expect a more than 70% chance of a quarter-point cut. But Adam Coons, chief investment officer at Winthrop Capital Management, thinks the odds aren't that high.

"So right now it, I would say it's a coin flip as [to] whether the Fed cuts one more time in 2024. I would lean towards, I don't think it's necessary, and just because I think the economy is showing too much strength for there to be a need to cut right now. In 2025, I think it really comes down to what is the economy doing."

Investors will closely monitor Friday's monthly nonfarm payrolls report for further clues on the Fed's next move.

Stocks on the move Tuesday included Salesforce, which, while up marginally at the close, jumped another 7% in after-hours trading after beating Wall Street estimates for third-quarter revenue, thanks to strong cloud demand.

Shares of Amazon rose after the company announced a new slate of AI platforms, known as foundation models, at its annual AWS conference.

And shares of Tesla closed lower after data showed that sales of Chinese-made electric vehicles fell 4.3% year-over-year in November.