US open: Markets fluctuate as oil prices rise

US stocks fluctuated early on Monday, as oil prices rose amid reports of renewed fighting in Eastern Ukraine.

The Dow Jones and the S&P 500 closed at record highs on Friday, in the wake of a positive reaction the October jobs report.

While fewer non-farm payrolls were added than expected last month, there were large upwards revisions to previous months' data and the jobless rate ticked down to a six-year low of 5.8%.

"After several weeks where the corporate data releases of the US reporting season have driven US equity indices higher, Monday morning’s futures market is pointing towards a lull in proceedings," said market analyst Alastair McCaig from IG.

In corporate news, Rackspace Hosting edged slightly lower ahead of its third-quarter results, which are due after close on Monday.

Boeing slid despite announcing it has won an $8.5bn order from Japanese aircraft leasing company SMBC Aviation Capital.

Go Pro shares fell after the wearable video camera maker reported a $800m secondary offer of its shares.

Dendreon plunged over 60% after reports indicated the firm had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Dean Foods rose sharply after reporting better-than-expected third-quarter results, while 3D Systems advanced after beating analysts’ earnings expectations and Sotheby’s gained slightly after reporting that its third-quarter losses narrowed due to lower expenses.

The dollar was in retreat against the pound, the euro and the yen, while gold futures slid. Analysts, however, believe that commodities could move forward in the short-term future.

“In the long run, I still expect a strengthening dollar to continue to weigh on commodity prices, but with the US data not coming until later this week, there’s no reason why we can’t see some upside in the meantime,” said Craig Elam, market analyst for Alpari UK.

The price of both Brent crude and West Texas intermediate rose in the first session of the week, with the former trading at just under $84.50 a barrel, while the latter was being traded at just over $79 a barrel.

The yield on the 10-year US Treasury note rose one basis point to 2.31%, while the yield on the 30-year note advanced two basis points to 3.05% and the yield on the five-year Treasuries was stable at 1.59%.