U.S. stocks fluctuate with focus on stimulus bill

The S&P 500 Index swung between modest gains and losses as investors looked for signals on whether lawmakers were making progress toward a coronavirus relief package. Mining and energy producers were among the laggards as European stocks dipped, with Glencore down the most since May after scrapping its dividend.

Equity gains in the past week have pushed a gauge of global stocks to within a whisker of recouping this year's declines, but any hint that negotiators won't be able to resolve differences over a new U.S. virus relief package has sparked jitters. The White House and congressional Democrats are running up against a self-imposed Friday deadline to strike a deal as data Thursday showed almost 1.2 million unemployment claims.

"Congress and the White House need to swiftly move forward on the next fiscal stimulus package," said Yousef Abbasi, global market strategist at StoneX.

Elsewhere, Turkey's lira tumbled to a record against the dollar as interventions by state banks failed to reassure markets. Gold climbed above $2,050 an ounce on concern loose fiscal policy will spur inflation.

The pound rose against the euro after the Bank of England said it won't tighten policy soon despite signals that the U.K. economy's rebound is faster than foreseen.

Stocks:

- The S&P 500 Index fell 0.1% at 11:13 a.m. New York time.

- The Stoxx Europe 600 Index declined 0.8%.

- The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.1%.

Currencies:

- The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index was little changed.

- The Japanese yen rose 0.1% to 105.48 per dollar.

- The Turkish lira weakened 3.5% to 7.3043 per dollar.

Bonds:

- The yield on 10-year Treasuries decreased three basis points to 0.51%.

- Britain's 10-year yield dipped three basis points to 0.09%.

- Germany's 10-year yield declined three basis points to -0.54%.

Commodities:

- West Texas Intermediate crude rose 0.1% to $42.22 a barrel.

- Gold strengthened 0.9% to $2,055.78 an ounce.

- Copper fell 0.5% to $2.9015 per pound.