Stock futures were little changed Wednesday, the final day of September, as traders kept an eye on Treasury yields and awaited fresh U.S. economic data.

Contracts tied to the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose just 8 points. S&P 500 futures traded along the flatline as well as Nasdaq-100 futures.

In Europe, the pan-continental Stoxx 600 added 0.1% in morning trade, as both the U.K.'s FTSE 100 and the Italian FTSE MIB advanced 0.76%. Germany's DAX gained 0.63%, and the French CAC 40 moved 0.23% higher.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 closed 1.94% higher, while South Korea's Kospi fell 0.48%. Australia's benchmark S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.92%. Mainland China's CSI 300 closed 0.29% higher.

Treasury yields eased slightly on Wednesday, a day after the 30-year Treasury reached levels not seen since June 2002. The 10-year yield, meanwhile, scaled to a fresh 2007 high on Tuesday near 5.3%. Those moves led the Dow to decline more than 100 points, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq slid 0.2% and 0.1%, respectively.

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."

To be sure, new comments from New York Federal Reserve President John Williams appeared to have eased fears of higher central bank rates, at least for the moment. Williams said late Tuesday, "there is no need for urgency, and we have time to gather more information" before the Fed's October meeting.

The CME Group's FedWatch tool shows traders are pricing in a 49% chance of a quarter-point rate hike next month. That's down from 71% on Monday.

Traders have their sights set on the August reading of the Personal Consumption Expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge. Economists polled by Dow Jones see the metric rising 0.3% for the month, leading to an annual pace of 3.7%.

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%.