Wall Street hunkers down ahead of jobs data

U.S. stock futures were bracing for the government-shutdown-delayed release of September's employment report.

Employers are forecast to have added 180,000 jobs for the month, up from 169,000 in August. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at 7.3%. The data will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET.

EMPLOYMENT: Delayed Sept. jobs report set for release

Ahead of that, Dow Jones industrial average index futures fell 0.1%, Standard & Poor's 500 index futures fell by a similar amount and Nasdaq index futures shed 0.04%.

On Monday, the S&P 500 closed up a fraction of a point at 1,744.66. The Dow edged down 7.45 points, or 0.1%, to 15,392.20. The Nasdaq rose 5.77 points, or 0.2%, to 3,920.05.

MONDAY: Stocks close mixed; S&P 500 at all time high

Benchmark crude for November delivery was down 23 cents at $98.99 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The November contract expires Tuesday.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index added 0.1%. Major benchmarks in Europe fell at a similar pace.