Stock Futures Tick Up as Traders Eye D.C.

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Deprived of the all-important monthly jobs report, traders looked to Washington, D.C. for clues on when a budget stalemate in Congress will end.

Today's Markets

As of 8:10 a.m. ET, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures climbed 18 points to 14924, S&P 500 futures gained 2.8 points to 1673 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 5.3 points to 3208.

Generally, the first Friday of the month is called "jobs Friday," in Wall Street parlance. It's the day the Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a snapshot of how the labor market is faring. The report has taken on much more significance in recent months as analysts try to figure out when the Federal Reserve will begin paring back its vast bond-buying program. Not to mention the central bank also uses the data in its models.

However, a partial government shutdown triggered by a deeply divided Congress has halted all but essential government services -- of which the BLS' data collection and reporting are not included. The deadlocked legislator that has allowed the shutdown to grind on for four days has also sparked concerns about a looming debt ceiling battle during the middle of the month.

U.S. equities have taken a hit over the past few sessions as a result of the uncertainty -- with the broad S&P 500 shedding about 1%. The mood was a bit brighter on Friday as traders scooped up beaten-down stocks.

On the corporate front, Twitter unveiled the regulatory filing for its $1 billion initial public offering late Thursday. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) will be the lead underwriter on the offering, in a win over rival Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS). It's unclear whether the micro-blogging site will list on NYSE Euronext's (NYSE:NYX) New York Stock Exchange or Nasdaq OMX Group's (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Nasdaq Stock Market.

Elsewhere, in commodities, U.S. crude oil futures climbed 35 cents or 0.33%, to $103.65 a barrel. Wholesale New York Harbor gasoline gained 0.16% to $2.644 a gallon. Gold fell $7.80, or 0.61%, to $1,310 a troy ounce.

Foreign Markets

The Euro Stoxx 50 rose 0.47% to 2916, the English FTSE 100 climbed 0.11% to 6456 and the German DAX fell 0.02% to 8596.

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei 225 slid 0.94% to 14024 and the Chinese Hang Seng fell 0.33% to 23139.