US equity futures were flat before Monday's opening bell as traders refrained from making big bets ahead of the US presidential election.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 0.03%, S&P 500 futures increased 0.1%, and Nasdaq futures were up 0.01%.

The US is set to hold its presidential election on Tuesday, with a heated contest between former president Donald Trump and current Vice President Kamala Harris.

Oil prices were higher, with front-month global benchmark North Sea Brent crude up 2.5% at $74.94 per barrel and US West Texas Intermediate crude up 2.9% at $71.40 per barrel.

US factory orders, scheduled for release at 10 am ET, are seen dropping by 0.4% in September following a 0.2% downtick in the prior month, according to estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

In other world markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng ended 0.3% higher, China's Shanghai Composite finished 1.2% higher, while the Japanese market was closed for a holiday. Meanwhile, UK's FTSE 100 rose 0.5%, and Germany's DAX index slipped 0.1% in Europe's early afternoon session.

In equities, shares of B. Riley Financial (RILY) retreated more than 9% pre-bell after the company said in a Form 8-K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that Franchise Group, a retailer backed by the bank, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and that it expects to book an additional impairment charge related to its Freedom VCM investment and Vintage loan receivable, which are estimated to be about $120 million in the aggregate.

On the winning side, Staffing 360 Solutions (STAF) shares soared more than 92% after the company agreed to merge with Atlantic International in an all-stock deal. Air Transport Services Group (ATSG) shares were up nearly 23% following a media report that the company is in advanced talks to be acquired by Stonepeak for about $3.1 billion.