U.S. stock futures were flat to kick off the final trading session of September after the major averages rose to their third consecutive week of gains.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average traded near the flatline. S&P 500 futures added just 0.04% and Nasdaq 100 futures inched up 0.08%.

The 30-stock Dow rose 0.3% on Friday to finish at a new all-time high and end the week around 0.6% higher. The S&P 500 also gained about 0.6%, while the Nasdaq Composite climbed almost 1% during the week. 

Wall Street is on track to end September on a positive note. Month to date, the Dow and the broad market index are up 1.8% and 1.6%, respectively. The tech-heavy Nasdaq has advanced 2.3% in September. Markets had a rough start to what is historically the weakest month for the stock market, but rebounded as September went on with the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates by a super-sized half point.

The S&P 500 is up 5.1% on the quarter, stretching its year-to-date gain to more than 20%. However, October has a troubling history as well for markets, known as a time of extreme volatility with some of the more notable Wall Street drawdowns occurring during the month.

To end last week, August's personal consumption expenditures price index came in at just 2.2%, the lowest since February 2021, making investors more confident on further rate cuts from the Fed. Additionally, initial jobless claims numbers released last week fell less than expected, signaling strength in the labor market. 

The encouraging economic data "reinforces the core beliefs that prices are stabilizing, the consumer is healthy enough, companies are poised to take advantage of lower rates, and the economy keeps chugging along," said Scott Helfstein, head of investment strategy at Global X.  "Expect risk assets to keep advancing against this backdrop despite geopolitical noise."

Markets will get a major test later in the week with September's jobs report out on Friday. On the earnings front, Carnival will announce its quarterly results Monday morning.

Consumer discretionary outperforms September

Consumer discretionary is on pace as the S&P 500's best-performing sector in September, having climbed 7.3% higher for the month.

Las Vegas Sands' 31.1% rise is pulled the sector higher, followed by Wynn Resorts and Tesla up around 27% and 22%, respectively.

Utilities is the following highest-gaining sector with a rise of around 6%.

Meanwhile, financials, health care and energy are all in the red for the month.

— Hakyung Kim

Stock futures inch lower Sunday

U.S. stock futures ticked down Sunday night.

Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 43 points. S&P 500 futures were lower by about 0.16% and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 0.2%.

— Hakyung Kim