Global Stocks Little Changed to End the Week

Global stocks wavered a day after technology stocks dragged Wall Street lower amid disappointing jobless numbers.

In the U.S., S&P 500 futures were flat and futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down less than 0.1%. Changes in futures don't necessarily predict market moves after the markets open.

In Europe, the Stoxx Europe 600 were little changed in morning trade as gains in consumer discretionary and materials sectors were tempered by losses in energy and industrials sectors.

SSP Group jumped 2.4% snapping a three-session losing streak.

John Wood Group fell 2.2%, posted its fourth consecutive session of declines.

The FTSE 100, which is dominated by large international businesses, traded mostly flat and shed 0.1%.

Other stock indexes in Europe also mostly climbed as France's CAC 40 climbed 0.3%, U.K.'s FTSE 250 gained 0.1%, and Germany's DAX added 0.3%.

The Swiss franc and the euro were up 0.1% and 0.2% respectively against the U.S. dollar and the British pound was flat against the U.S. dollar, with 1 pound buying $1.40.

In commodities, international benchmark Brent crude slipped 1.4% to $63.01 a barrel. Gold also slipped 0.2% to $1,771.50 a troy ounce.

The yield on German 10-year bunds was up to minus 0.328% and the yield on 10-year U.K. government debt known as gilts strengthened to 0.646%. The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield was up to 1.298% from 1.286%. Yields move inversely to prices.

Stocks in Asia were mixed as China's benchmark Shanghai Composite rose 0.6% after falling as much as 1.1% earlier, whereas Hong Kong's Hang Seng was down 0.1% and Japan's Nikkei 225 index was lower 0.7%.

An artificial-intelligence tool was used in creating this article.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 19, 2021 04:15 ET (09:15 GMT)

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