Stock futures edged higher on Monday as the market is set to enter the last week of trading in September with big losses.
Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 80 points, or 0.23%. S&P 500 futures and Nasdaq 100 futures inched up 0.29% and 0.36%.
Stocks have struggled this month as the Federal Reserve signaled higher interest rates for longer, sending bond yields rising. The benchmark 10-year Treasury yield has surged more than 30 basis points this month to 4.43%. The market also contended with a rally in crude oil and a winning streak in the dollar during the seasonally weak trading month.
The S&P 500 has fallen 4.2% this month, on pace for its second straight losing month and its worst month since December. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite is down 5.9% in September as growth stocks bore the brunt of the sell-off, also headed for its biggest monthly loss since December. The blue-chip Dow is off by a more modest 2.2%. this month.
“Once again, the move in rates has proven to be too much too fast for equity markets to handle,” said Adam Turnquist, chief technical strategist at LPL Financial. ”The recent breakout raises the question of how high yields will go — an important question that could continue to weigh on risk sentiment.”
Investors are also closely monitoring progress on a budget resolution in Washington. Lawmakers over the weekend expressed few signs of movement on a deal that would keep the U.S. government funded for the remainder of the fiscal year.