Traders showed initial reluctance to make big moves before the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting minutes were released. Activity stayed subdued afterward, as the minutes highlighted officials' mixed views on interest rates.

Participants expressed a range of views on the restrictiveness of the current policy stance. Most saw further rate cuts as likely if inflation eases as expected, though some favored holding rates steady for a while after December's quarter-point cut. The next meeting is January 27-28, with an 83.9% chance of no change per CME Group's FedWatch Tool. Trading remained choppy amid the New Year's holiday.

Biotechnology stocks significantly moved downwards, with the NYSE Arca Biotechnology Index falling by 1.5%. Telecom stocks was notably strong, driving the NYSE Arca North American Telecom Index up by 1.1%. Energy and gold stocks also moved higher.

Asia-Pacific stocks turned in another mixed performance. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index shed 0.4%, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index jumped by 0.9%. The major European markets moved to the upside on the day while the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index advanced by 0.8%, the French CAC 40 Index climbed by 0.7% and the German DAX Index rose by 0.6%.

In the bond market, treasuries gave back ground following the strength seen in the previous session. Subsequently, the yield on the benchmark ten-year note, which moves opposite of its price, rose 1.4 bps to 4.13%.

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