As investors anticipate crucial jobs data for hints on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy, US futures meandered and equities were divided. Treasury yields rose.
Contracts on US gauges did not alter much. Losses in tech and utilities companies outpaced the gains in car manufacturers, sending European equities down. Gains in China, where markets reopened after a lengthy vacation, boosted Asian stocks as a whole.
After the US Senate acted to avoid an imminent default, resolving weeks of political gridlock, global markets are on track for their best week since early September. Investors will initially look to today's employment data for clues on the Fed's timetable for decreasing asset purchases, despite the fact that an energy shortage and commodity-fueled price pressures remain a source of worry.
The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note hit its highest level since June. Oil continued to rise, heading for a sixth weekly gain.
