Stock futures were mixed on Monday as traders braced for the final week of a volatile September.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials hiked 50 points, or 0.1%, to 34,723.
Futures for the S&P 500 erased six points, or 0.1%, to 4,439.75
Futures for the NASDAQ Composite Index flopped 90 points, or 0.6%, to 15,228.75.
Energy stocks gained as investors bet on a continued economic recovery with U.S. COVID cases declining. But tech shares were lower.
Also weighing on sentiment was a potential government shutdown to end the week.
Stocks linked to the economic comeback led the premarket gains as U.S. COVID cases continued to roll over. There were 114,000 new cases, on average, the last seven days through Friday, down from a seven-day average of about 160,000 cases at the peak of this latest wave in early September, according to the CDC.
Pfizer CEO Albert Boula said on Sunday that he thought the U.S. could return to normal “within a year” though annual vaccinations might be needed.
Carnival Corp rose 2% and United Airlines added 1% in premarket trading.
Exxon Mobil and Occidental Petroleum led gains in the energy sector as WTI crude continued its September run, topping $74 a barrel.
Investors are monitoring the progress in Washington as lawmakers try to prevent a government shutdown, a default on U.S. debt and the possible collapse of President Joe Biden's sweeping economic agenda.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that she expects the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill to pass this week, but voting on the legislation may be pushed back from its original Monday timeline.
Congress must pass a new budget by the end of September to avoid a shutdown, and lawmakers must also figure out a way to increase or suspend the debt ceiling in October before the U.S. would default on its debt for the first time.
Overseas, in Japan, the Nikkei 225 lost eight points, while in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng gained 0.1%
Oil prices gained $1.03 to $75.01 U.S. a barrel.
Gold prices docked $3.60 to $1,748.1 U.S. a pound.