US stock futures were mixed on Monday, as the market looked to maintain momentum in the shortened holiday week.

Futures contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 37 points, or 0.11%. S&P 500 futures fell 2.25 points, or 0.05%, while Nasdaq 100 futures rose 6.25 points, or 0.04%.

These moves come on the heels of an upbeat week for Wall Street, with the Dow Jones and Nasdaq indices achieving their best performance since July. The 30-stock Dow Jones and Nasdaq added 1.4% and about 3.3% during the week. The S&P 500 rose 2.5% to post its best week since June.

Traders last week were seeing new signs of the economy slowing and easing price pressures. While the latest non-farm payrolls report in the United States showed that the unemployment rate rose to 3.8% in August, reaching its highest level in more than a year. Economists had expected it to remain at 3.5%. Average hourly wages also rose 4.3% year over year, less than the 4.4% increase expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones.

This (report) raises the crucial short-term question for investors: Can the labor market slow enough, while inflation also slows, allowing the Fed to stop raising interest rates and keep interest rates stable for a while? “The slack in the workforce appears to be growing,” said Rick Reeder, chief investment officer for global fixed income at BlackRock.

Investors can also look forward to a challenging month for stocks. September is historically the weakest month for stocks, and investors will be scrutinizing economic reports — including new inflation data — ahead of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting in September. Central bank policymakers are scheduled to hold a two-day meeting starting September 19 and announce their interest rate decision on September 20.

However, some technical indicators gave investors hope last week. In a sign of positive short-term momentum, major indexes broke above their 50-day moving averages over the past week.

“Investors are feeling more optimistic because we're back in bull mode and an upward trend,” Sam Stovall, chief investment strategist at CFRA, told CNBC last week. He added: At least in the near term, I believe that US stock markets can continue to rise even in the face of a relatively challenging month.