U.S. stock futures rose Friday as traders sought to shake off a sluggish September. S&P 500 futures climbed about 0.2% and Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.1%. Futures tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 45 points, or 0.1%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite are coming off their fourth straight winning session, adding to their strong week-to-date performances. The broad market index is up nearly 3.5% this week, while the Nasdaq has popped 5.3%. The Dow has advanced 1.9%. Wall Street is now looking ahead toward the Federal Reserve’s policy meeting on Sept. 17-18, where the central bank is largely anticipated to lower interest rates by 25 basis points. Currently, the Fed’s target rate is sitting at 5.25% to 5.5%. Economic data reflecting a moderation in inflation also seemed to support the case for a rate cut. The consumer price index in August came in at 2.5% on annualized basis, the lowest level since February 2021. Wholesale prices, meanwhile, rose 0.2% in August, coming in line with expectations. “At the end of the day, the U.S. consumer and the economy continue to do well, [and] profits continue to print above expectations,” Dan Greenhaus, chief strategist at Solus Alternative Asset Management, said on CNBC’s “Closing Bell” on Thursday. “And so while we had a meaningful sell-off driven by some of those AI names, for sure, the rebound seems entirely justified because it doesn’t seem like these issues are broadening out,” he added. On the economic front, traders will look toward August’s import prices data Friday morning. Preliminary consumer sentiment figures for September are also scheduled for release. U.S. Treasury yields were lower on Friday as investors considered the path ahead for interest rates as they digested the latest economic data. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was down by 3 basis points at 3.649%. The 2-year Treasury yield was last nearly six basis points lower at 3.591. Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Friday as mainland Chinese markets hit their lowest since 2019 and Australian markets neared an all-time high. Mainland China’s CSI 300 slipped 0.42% to 3,172.47, its lowest level since January 2019. In contrast, Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.3% and closed at 8,099.9. During the session, the index crossed its all-time closing high of 8,114.7 briefly, before giving up its gains. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.13%, ending at 2,575.41 while the small-cap Kosdaq finished 0.3% higher at 733.2. Shares of chip heavyweight Samsung Electronics slipped almost 3% as workers in its India plant reportedly went on strike for a fifth consecutive day. Japan’s Nikkei 225 fell 0.68% to 36,581.76, while the broad-based Topix dropped 0.86% and closed at 2,571.14. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index had gained 0.81% as of its final hour of trade. Oil prices rose on Friday, extending a rally sparked by output disruptions in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, where Hurricane Francine forced producers to evacuate platforms before it hit the coast of Louisiana. Brent crude futures rose by 34 cents, or 0.5%, to $72.31 per barrel by 0016 GMT. U.S. West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose by 38 cents, or 0.6%, to $69.35 a barrel. Gold prices extended gains to hit a record high on Friday on expectations of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, while palladium was set to log its best week in nine months. Spot gold firmed 0.4% to $2,570.07 per ounce by 0857 GMT, after hitting a record high of $2,570.91 earlier. U.S. gold futures rose 0.7% to $2,598.10. The dollar slipped 0.4%, making bullion more attractive to other currency holders.