U.S. stock futures nudged up after Wall Street indexes took a leg lower amid worries about the possibility of higher capital-gains taxes.

S&P 500 futures were up 0.2% and futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2%. The contracts don't necessarily predict movements after the markets open.

Europe stocks declined Friday. The Stoxx Europe 600 was down 0.2% in morning trade. The consumer-staples and information-echnology sectors posted the main losses while the communication-services and materials sectors rose.

Vivendi added 2.6% for a two-day winning streak.

Viscofan slipped 3.3%.

The U.K.'s FTSE 100 shed 0.3%. Other stock indexes in Europe also mostly fell as France's CAC 40 was lower 0.2%, the U.K.'s FTSE 250 lost 0.2% and Germany's DAX was lower 0.3%.

The euro and the British pound gained 0.3% against the U.S. dollar and the Swiss franc was mostly flat against the U.S. dollar, with 1 franc buying $1.09.

In commodities, Brent crude strengthened 0.7% to $65.87 a barrel. Gold was also up 0.2% to $1,785.20 a troy ounce.

German 10-year bund yields strengthened to minus 0.248%and 10-year gilts yields were up to 0.745%. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury rose to 1.567% from 1.554%. Bond yields move in the opposite directions to prices.

Stocks in Asia were mixed as Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.7% and China's benchmark Shanghai Composite rose 0.3%, whereas Japan's Nikkei 225 index lost 0.6%.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-23-21 0358ET