Wall Street stocks were set for a cautious start on Monday, with investors on the alert for fresh developments in a probe into Hillary Clinton's emails and what that could mean for the U.S. presidential election this week.
The week ahead will also bring a Federal Reserve meeting, important U.S. jobs data and another batch of earnings.
From modest gains earlier Monday, Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were nearly flat at 18,105, while S&P 500 futures gained 1.45 points to 2,125.25. Nasdaq-100 futures rose 13.25 points, or 0.3%, to 4,819.50.
Late Friday, stocks took a turn lower after Federal Bureau of Investigation Director James Comey told Congress that the agency was taking another look at the use of a private server by Democratic presidential nominee Clinton while she was secretary of state. The reopening of the FBI probe came after emails were found in devices belonging to disgraced former congressman Anthony Weiner, who is separated from top Clinton aide Huma Abedin.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid said Sunday that Comey may have broken the law that prohibits federal officials from using their office to influence an election.
"With no further details having emerged yet, I think we'll continue to see some risk aversion on the back of this, but traders may await more information on the likely outcome before responding accordingly," said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at OANDA, in emailed comments.
"Clinton had a large lead prior to the disclosure, which may also be cushioning the impact of the initial announcement," Erlam added.
The latest Washington Post-ABC News Tracking Poll showed Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is just 1 percentage point behind his rival Clinton, though a majority of voters polled said that news of the fresh email probe will make no difference to their vote.
Asian markets saw a mostly lower finish, while the U.S. dollar, which got knocked to Yen104.46 Friday as news of the FBI probe broke, moved back up to Yen105 in premarket U.S. trading.
Oil prices drifted south amid disappointment that the weekend meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries failed to deliver on a concrete deal over output cuts.