Traders work on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) floor on August 08, 2024 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
U.S. stock futures were little changed Monday night as traders braced for a potentially tough month ahead after a strong but volatile August.
Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 63 points, or 0.1%. S&P 500 futures fell marginally, and Nasdaq-100 futures eked out a small gain.
U.S. markets were closed Monday due to the Labor Day holiday.
The major averages are coming off a winning session, securing a gain for the month. The S&P 500 rose 2.3% in August, marking its fourth straight monthly gain. The Dow and Nasdaq advanced 1.8% and 0.7%, respectively, during the period.
Those moves came after a steep sell-off to begin the month. Concern over the U.S. economy falling into a recession, along with the unwinding of a popular hedge fund trade involving the Japanese yen, sent stocks tumbling in early August. At one point, the S&P 500 was down more than 7% for the month before recovering.
“August got off to an incredibly rough start,” wrote Deutsche Bank macro strategist Henry Allen. “But after August 5, calm began to return to markets. In part, that was helped by more positive data on the US economy, which helped to ease fears about an imminent recession.”
Investors will get their first major economic report of the month on Friday, when the U.S. government releases the August jobs report. Wall Street will also have to contend with seasonal headwinds, as September has been the worst month on average for the S&P 500 over the last 10 years.
