BANGKOK (AP) — World stock markets wavered Tuesday as investors battened down for U.S. earnings and the September employment report.
Benchmarks in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan fell while Japan and Australia posted modest gains. European stock markets mostly floundered and Wall Street futures were flat.
Markets are absorbing quarterly U.S. earnings, with about 30 percent of S&P 500 companies releasing results this week, and also awaiting the September jobs report which was delayed more than two weeks.
U.S. employers are forecast to have added 180,000 jobs, up from 169,000 in August. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at 7.3 percent, which will support arguments in favor of the Federal Reserve continuing its super easy monetary policy.
Employers are adding jobs at only a modest pace, and many of the hires are in lower-paying industries. Economists think the shutdown slowed growth in the October-December quarter and likely dampened hiring.
In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 added 0.1 percent to 6,662.06. France's CAC 40 lost 0.1 percent to 4,271.63 and Germany's DAX shed 0.1 percent to 8,857.19.
