U.S. stocks hold steady near records as Asian markets experience wild swings, with Japan tumbling and China soaring.

That could be an encouraging signal for the more comprehensive report on the U.S. job market due to arrive Friday from the U.S. government. The dominant question hanging over Wall Street has been whether the job market can keep holding up after the Federal Reserve earlier kept interest rates at a two-decade high.

U.S. stocks are falling Thursday, as crude oil prices continue to climb over supply concerns amid a growing conflict in the Middle East. The S&P 500 fell 0.3% in afternoon trading after flipping between modest gains and losses earlier in the day.

Crude prices jumped Oct. 3 on worries that worsening tensions in the Middle East could disrupt the global flow of oil, while U.S. stocks pulled back further