Stock futures gained on Wednesday, the final day of September, after new U.S. economic data showed inflation slowed last month, sending Treasury yields lower. Contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average were trading up 133 points, or about 0.3%. S&P 500 futures rose about 0.3%, while Nasdaq-100 futures were trading 0.3% higher. The personal consumption expenditures price index for August increased at a 3.4% annual rate, down from 3.7% the month prior. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for inflation to remain steady at 3.7%. Even more encouraging was core PCE, excluding food and energy, which rose 3% year on year, down from 3.3% the month before and also lower than economists had forecast. Strong private sector data offset the light inflation data, with ADP saying 90,000 jobs were added in September, much better than the 68,000 consensus estimate from economists. Micron led tech shares higher in early trading, up 1% before its results after the bell. Nvidia and Alphabet were also in the green. Robinhood was the big winner so far on Wednesday with shares up 5% in premarket trading after it announced new agentic trading tools and extended weekend hours. Jose Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, noted that equities are “trying to hang in there, but tighter financial conditions are emboldening the bears and lifting interest in downside hedges.” Wednesday marks the last day of September and the third quarter. Market performance has been mixed in both timeframes. For the month, the S&P 500 and Dow are tracking for declines, while the Nasdaq is up more than 1%. For the quarter, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are up 2%, while the Dow is off nearly 2%. The 10-year Treasury yield retreated from its highest since 2007 following the slowing inflation data and was last at 5.23%. The 30-year Treasury yield fell from levels not seen since June 2002. Higher yields have pressured stocks all month, with the S&P 500 in the red for September by 0.2% through Tuesday. Odds of a Fed rate hike eased a bit on Wednesday. The CME Group’s FedWatch tool shows traders are pricing in a 47% chance of a quarter-point rate hike next month. That’s down 51% from a day ago. Traders are still expecting another hike in December despite the light inflation data Wednesday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 closed 1.94% higher at 66,753.72, while South Korea’s Kospi fell 0.48% to 6,838.04. Australia’s benchmark S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.92% to 8,789.30. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index was up 0.43% in the last hour of trade on Wednesday, while mainland China’s CSI 300 closed 0.29% higher at 4,357.62. Oil prices rose on Wednesday after US President Donald Trump denied he would be willing to ease sanctions on Iran while Qatar pushed for peace talks after falling in the previous session on a recovery in crude supply from the Middle East. Brent crude futures rose $1.14, or 1.11%, to $103.73 a barrel by 0131 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate crude gained 34 cents, or 0.38%, to $89.72. Brent is headed for a monthly gain of around 14%, its biggest climb since July, while WTI is on track for a 4% rise after having breached $106 for the first time since May. Gold prices edged higher on Wednesday but remained on track for a monthly decline as prospects of ​higher interest rates dented sentiment, ​while investors awaited US inflation ​data for clues on the Federal Reserve’s policy path. Spot gold rose 0.2% to $4,188.17 per ounce but has lost more than 5% this month. U.S. gold futures gained 1% ⁠to $4,219.90. The ‌US dollar eased but was headed for a monthly ⁠gain, making greenback-denominated metals more expensive for holders of other currencies.