Wall Street's main indexes opened muted on the final day of an upbeat year which has seen the benchmark S&P 500 rally close to a record peak due to growing expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates early next year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 8.47 points, or 0.02 percent, at the open to 37,701.63. The S&P 500 opened lower by 0.47 points, or 0.01 percent, at 4,782.88, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 4.06 points, or 0.03 percent, to 15,099.20 at the opening bell.