The major U.S. index futures are pointing to a higher on Monday, with stocks poised to extend the upward trend seen over the past several sessions.
The markets may benefit from recent upward momentum, which has helped drive the major averages to record highs.
Trading activity may be somewhat subdued, however, as some traders may be away from their desks due to the Columbus Day holiday.
With traders digesting the closely watched monthly jobs report, stocks turned in a relatively lackluster performance during trading on Friday. The major averages eventually ended the day on opposite sides of the unchanged line.
While the tech-heavy Nasdaq inched up 4.82 points or 0.1 percent to a new record closing high of 6,590.18, the Dow edged down 1.72 points or less than a tenth of a percent to 22,773.67 and the S&P 500 dipped 2.74 points or 0.1 percent to 2,549.33.
Despite the mixed performance on the day, the major averages all posted strong gains for the week. The Dow surged up by 1.6 percent, while the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 jumped by 1.5 percent and 1.2 percent, respectively.
The mixed close came following the release of a report from the Labor Department showing an unexpected decrease in employment in the U.S. in the month of September.
The report said non-farm payroll employment fell by 33,000 jobs in September after climbing by an upwardly revised 169,000 jobs in August. Economists had expected employment to rise by 90,000 jobs.
The Labor Department said a sharp decline in employment in food services and drinking places and below-trend growth in some other industries likely reflected the impact of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
Despite the unexpected drop in employment, the unemployment rate dipped to 4.2 percent in September from 4.4 percent in August. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to hold at 4.4 percent.
With the unexpected decrease, the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since hitting a matching rate in February of 2001.
The report also showed a notable acceleration in the pace of wage growth, as average hourly employee earnings were up by 2.9 percent year-over-year in September compared to 2.5 percent in August.
Paul Ashworth, Chief U.S. Economist at Capital Economics, said the 0.5 percent monthly increase in wages came as many low-paid restaurant workers were temporarily out of a job.
"Overall, the Fed and the markets will just ignore this report," Ashworth said. "If past-storms, particularly Katrina, are any guide, employment will rebound markedly over the next few months."
He added, "The drop in the unemployment rate might persist, however, with consumer and small business surveys both pointing to a drop in the unemployment rate to nearer 4% for some time."
Traders may have been reluctant to make significant moves following the recent upward trend, with the drop by the S&P 500 snapping an eight-day winning streak.
Most of the major sectors showed only modest moves on the day, although energy stocks saw considerable weakness amid a steep drop by the price of crude oil.
Reflecting the weakness in the energy sector, the Philadelphia Oil Service Index slumped by 1.4 percent, the NYSE Arca Natural Gas Index slid by 1.3 percent and the NYSE Arca Oil & Gas Index fell by 0.9 percent.
On the other hand, gold stocks showed a strong move to the upside, driving the NYSE Arca Gold Bugs Index up by 1.3 percent.
Commodity, Currency Markets
Crude oil futures are unchanged after plunging $1.50 to $49.29 a barrel last Friday. Meanwhile, an ounce of gold is trading at $1,283.40, up $8.50 from the previous session's close of $1,274.90. On Friday, gold rose $1.70.
On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 112.74 yen compared to the 112.65 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Friday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1744 compared to last Friday's $1.1730.
Asia
Asian stocks ended mostly higher on Monday, with Chinese markets leading the surge as traders returned to their desks after the weeklong "Golden Week" holidays. Trading activity remained light across the region due to holidays in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.
China's benchmark Shanghai Composite Index jumped 25.93 points or 0.8 percent to finish at 3,374.87, although Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 131.45 points or 0.5 percent to 28,326.59 after survey data from IHS Markit showed China's private sector expanded at the weakest pace in three months in September.
The Caixin composite output index fell to 51.4 in September from 52.4 in August, driven by weaker increases in output at both manufacturing and services companies. Activity in the services sector expanded at its slowest levels in almost two years.
Australian shares rose, led by financials, with the big four banks ending up between 0.5 percent and 1.2 percent. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index climbed 28.60 points or 0.5 percent to finish at 5,739.30 after climbing over 1 percent on Friday. The broader All Ordinaries Index finished up 27.70 points or 0.5 percent at 5,805.10.
Mining stocks closed broadly lower despite copper registering its largest weekly gain since late August. Gold miners Newcrest and Northern Star gained 1-2 percent as gold rebounded from two-month lows.
Mantra Group soared 16.4 percent after it received an A$1.18 billion ($920 million) bid from France's AccorHotels. WorleyParsons shares entered a trading halt after the engineering group entered into a binding agreement to acquire AFW UK for an enterprise value of 182 million pounds or A$303 million.
Europe
European stocks are mixed on Monday, with underlying sentiment supported by easing worries over Catalonia after hundreds of thousands of pro-Spanish unity supporters marched through the streets of Barcelona on Sunday. The day's economic reports also painted a positive picture of regional economies.
While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index is down by 0.2 percent, the German DAX Index is up by 1 percent and the French CAC 40 Index is just above the unchanged line.
German industrial output grew 2.6 percent month-on-month in August, reversing a revised 0.1 percent fall in July, official data showed.
Survey results from think tank Sentix showed that Eurozone investor confidence strengthened to a 10-year high in October. The investor confidence index unexpectedly rose to 29.7 from 28.2 in September.
Separately, survey data from Bank of France revealed that the French economy is forecast to grow as previously projected in the third quarter.
Spain's CaixaBank has rallied after its board agreed to shift its registered domicile out of Catalonia. Building materials and solutions company LafargeHolcim has also moved higher after naming a new CFO.
Similarly, mobile equipment company Ericsson has advanced after appointing former Atlas Copco CEO as its new chairman.
Meanwhile, EasyJet shares have fallen in London after the New York Times reported that the airline's talks with the insolvent carrier Air Berlin over the sale of up to 30 planes are at risk of falling apart.
Smith & Nephew has also moved lower after saying its CEO Olivier Bohuon would retire by the end of 2018. Airbus has tumbled after its CEO warned of turbulent times ahead.
U.S. Economic Reports
The economic calendar for the week starts off relatively quiet due to the Columbus Day holiday, although reports on producer and consumer prices and retail sales are likely to attract attention in the coming days.
The Federal Reserve is also due to release the minutes off its latest monetary policy meeting on Wednesday, potentially shedding some light on the outlook for interest rates.
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