US financial markets closed Monday for the Labor Day holiday, halting equity and bond trading as investors weighed the near-certainty of a Federal Reserve interest-rate cut later in the month. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq both suspended operations.

The pause followed a soft August employment report released September 4 that showed hiring slowing sharply. This reinforced bets that the Federal Open Market Committee will lower its benchmark rate at its meeting on September 16-17, with CME Group's FedWatch tool putting the probability of a quarter-point cut above 90 percent.

European and Asian markets remained open. The FTSE 100 in London and Germany's DAX traded in narrow ranges, while gold held near record levels as the dollar softened on rate-cut expectations. Trading volumes were expected to stay thin with US participants absent.

Investors positioned ahead of a data-heavy week that included US consumer and producer price figures due later in the period. Strategists at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs said the inflation readings would be the final major inputs before the Fed's decision, with any upside surprise capable of tempering expectations for further easing.

Bond markets will reopen Tuesday, with the two-year Treasury yield, most sensitive to Fed policy, hovering near multi-month lows. Analysts warned that thin holiday liquidity could amplify volatility once trading resumes.