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Global stocks were mostly steady Monday as rising commodities prices lifted mining shares.

Brent crude oil rose 1.5% to $34.55 a barrel, while copper futures also moved higher.

Stock futures pointed to a small opening gain for the S&P 500. Changes in futures don't necessarily reflect market moves after the opening bell.

While falling oil prices benefit consumers, a rise or stabilization in oil prices "would alleviate strains from the global financial system," said Mark Heppenstall, chief investment officer at Penn Mutual Asset Management, which manages $20 billion in assets.

"A lot of emerging market economies have revenues dependent on oil and commodities and debt denominated in U.S. dollars—that mix has proven pretty toxic," he added.

Despite Monday's rise, Brent crude prices are down nearly 8% this year amid a continuing supply glut and fears over slowing global growth.

Saudi oil minister Ali al-Naimi met with his Venezuelan counterpart on Sunday but didn't announce any plans for a production cut.

Meanwhile, the Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.1% in early trade, despite the lift in mining companies, following a downbeat finish on Wall Street Friday.

A dive in technology shares and a mixed jobs report added to uncertainty about the U.S. economy.

Job creation slowed in January after three consecutive months of gains, data showed, but a slight fall in unemployment and a modest uptick in wages left the prospect of further U.S. interest rate increases this year on the table.

In Asian trade, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 1.1% as the yen fell against the dollar, while Australia's S&P ASX 200 ended flat.

Other markets in Asia were closed for the Lunar New Year Holiday, but China remained in focus for global investors. Data released over the weekend showed China's foreign-exchange reserves fell to their lowest level in over three years, though many analysts had expected an even larger drop.

The latest reserves data added to concerns over China may be forced to further weaken its currency, which investors fear could spur further devaluations across emerging markets in a bid to defend export growth.

In currencies, the dollar was up 0.4% against the yen at ¥ 117.2910, while the euro was down 0.1% against the dollar at $1.1151.

Investors sold the dollar last week ahead of the jobs report, as uneven U.S. data earlier in the week reduced expectations that the Federal Reserve would raise benchmark interest rates in the coming months.

Lower interest rates tend to reduce the appeal of a currency to investors.

Attention now shifts to Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen, who is scheduled to deliver her semiannual testimony to Congress Wednesday.

In other commodities, spot gold in London was down 0.6% at $1166.75 a troy ounce.

Write to Riva Gold at riva.gold@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 08, 2016 05:15 ET (10:15 GMT)

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