Global stocks dipped in and out of the red in thin volume as investors waited for a crucial European summit that could lead to tighter controls on spending in the region.
Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.4 per cent, France's CAC 40 edged 0.1 per cent lower, and Germany's DAX rose 0.4 per cent. Japan's Nikkei and Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.7 per cent.
Dow stock futures inched 3 points lower to 12,211, while S&P 500 futures were down 1.5 points at 1,262.50 about two and a half hours before the New York Stock Exchange opened.
The Brussels summit starts on Thursday and and is expected to last into the weekend. A French-German proposal to add tougher budget rules to European treaties is being met with resistance by the European Council, which favors a simpler route — amending existing rules that apply to the 17 euro countries to avoid the trickier step of requiring every country to approve the new treaty.
Ahead of the summit, the European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates again and provide cash-strapped banks with more liquidity.
Three-month copper on the London Metal Exchange edged up 0.3 per cent to $7,841 (U.S.) a tonne.
Gold dipped $2.40 to $1,742.40 an ounce.
U.S. crude oil rose 0.5 per cent to $101.01 a barrel.
The Canadian dollar rose to 99.15 U.S. cents.