Wall Street stock futures were taking a breather on Thursday, moving in a narrow range with slight declines, in the wake of the promising start to 2013 trading that saw major U.S. stock market indexes leap higher.

Ahead of the market open, the Dow Jones Industrial Average index fell 0.05% to 13,325, the Standard & Poor's 500 index declined 0.3% to 1,453, and the Nasdaq-100 index was off 0.05%, at 2,737.

In the prior trading session, all three indexes bounded higher as investors expressed relief over a deal in Washington aimed at preventing a series of automatic tax rises and spending cuts from kicking in.

The Dow ended the day 308 points higher, for a gain of 2.4%. The S&P 500 closed out trading with a rise of more than 2.5%. The Nasdaq Composite index, home to a lot of technology stocks, rallied 3.1%, to close at 3,112.

But Wednesday's euphoria was fading in early action Thursday, with markets adopting a more cautious tone before the opening bell.

Late Wednesday, President Obama signed the so-called fiscal cliff bill, which will raise the top income tax rate for families earning over $450,000 a year and allows for $12 billion in immediate spending cuts.

Overseas market action was also more subdued Thursday, with major benchmarks in Europe struggling for direction. The Stoxx Europe 600 index, a broader measure, moved 0.2% higher, while some regional bourses in Asia also crept up in volatile trade.

Markets in Japan and mainland China were closed for holidays.

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Labor will release its latest reading on payrolls data, typically a market-moving piece of economic data.

USA Today