The mood in financial markets was cautious on Monday as the partial shutdown of the U.S. government entered a seventh day and lawmakers appeared to be making little headway in raising the country's debt ceiling.

President Barack Obama said frustrated Americans "definitely shouldn't give up" on the problem-plagued program now at the heart of his dispute with Republicans over reopening the federal government.

Using overnight hours this weekend to debug the system, the Health and Human Service Department hoped to fix the technological problems that overwhelmed the launch of new health insurance markets.

Participation in defined contribution retirement plans reached an all-time high last year, according to a report by Aon Hewitt.