Traders work on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor.
New York Stock Exchange
U.S. stock index futures opened flat on the final trading day of September after a third straight weekly gain for the major indexes.
futures Linked to the Dow Jones Industrial Average, it trades near its flat line. S&P 500 Index Futures is flat, and Nasdaq 100 Futures It fell slightly by 0.14%.
The 30-stock Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3% on Friday to close at a record high, ending the week up about 0.6%. The S&P 500 is also up about 0.6%, while the Nasdaq is up nearly 1% for the week.
Wall Street is expected to approach the end of September on a positive note. So far this month, the Dow and the broader market are up 1.8% and 1.6%, respectively. The tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 2.3% in September. Stocks got off to a rocky start in one of their weakest months in history, but rebounded with the Federal Reserve slashing interest rates by half a percentage point in September.
S&P 500 Index, 1 month
The S&P 500 is up 5.1% this quarter and more than 20% year-to-date. However, October also has a troubling history for markets, known as a period of extreme volatility that has seen some of Wall Street's more notable drawdowns.
As of last week, the personal consumption expenditures price index in August was only 2.2%, the lowest level since February 2021, making investors more confident that the Federal Reserve will further cut interest rates. In addition, the number of first-time jobless claims announced last week fell less than expected, indicating a strong labor market.
Scott Helfstein, head of investment strategy at Global “Despite the geopolitical noise, risk assets are expected to continue rising against this backdrop.
Markets will face a big test later this week with the release of the September jobs report on Friday. On the earnings front, Carnival will report quarterly results on Monday morning.