Stocks wrapped up September in style, with the Dow and S&P 500 scoring record closes to end the month. All three major benchmarks bucked seasonal headwinds to finish September in the black for the first time since 2019. The blue-chip index and S&P 500 have now rattled off five-straight monthly wins. The three indexes also nabbed quarterly gains, and for the Nasdaq and S&P 500, it was their fourth positive quarter in a row.

Remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, who teased the possibility of additional interest rate cuts should the economy continue to meet the central bank's expectations, lifted stocks into positive territory this afternoon. Despite settling lower for the session, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) rose for the month and quarter. 

OIL PRICES LOG LOSSES ACROSS THE BOARD

Oil prices settled modestly lower on Monday, after an Israel strike on Beirut killed Hezbollah's leader. November-dated West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 1 penny to settle at $68.17 per barrel for the day. Black gold lost 7.3% and 16.4% for the quarter, respectively.

Gold prices settled lower, taking a breather from a rally driven by interest rate cuts as well as conflict in the Middle East. Gold for December delivery was last seen down 0.7% at $2,649.20. The safe-haven metal also rose 13% for the quarter -- its best since 2020.

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