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Futures: Dow down 0.04%, S&P 500 up 0.12%, Nasdaq up 0.19%

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Fed to begin two-day policy meeting on Tuesday

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Oracle shares up on TikTok deal framework report

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Retail sales rise 0.6% in August vs 0.2% estimate

(Updates after retail sales data)

By Purvi Agarwal and Sukriti Gupta

Sept 16 (Reuters) -

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were set for a higher open on

Tuesday as investors anticipated interest rate cuts from the

Federal Reserve on Wednesday, while parsing through the latest

retail sales reading.

Investors largely priced in a 25 basis point cut from the

U.S. central bank at the conclusion of its two-day meeting on

Wednesday, in an attempt to offset the deterioration in the U.S.

labor market, evidenced by numerous recent economic indicators.

U.S. retail sales increased more than expected in August,

data from the Commerce Department showed on Tuesday, but

momentum could ease amid labor market weakness and rising goods

prices because of tariffs on imports.

The figures did little to change already priced-in rate

cut expectations. Markets are still anticipating a total of

about 67 basis points in monetary policy easing by end-2025,

data compiled by LSEG showed.

Rate cut expectations remained unchanged after the U.S.

Senate confirmed economic adviser Stephen Miran to the Fed Board

and an appeals court rejected President Donald Trump's bid to

fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook.

"It seems (to be) consensus that the Fed is going to cut

by 25 basis points ... I don't know if August retail sales are

going to be enough to move market sentiment in a day where

investors are clearly downshifting into a wait-and-see mode,"

said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B Riley Wealth.

In stocks, Oracle gained 4.1% in premarket trading.

CBS News reported on Monday that the cloud computing giant is

among a consortium of firms that would enable TikTok to continue

operations in the U.S. if a Sino-U.S. framework deal was

reached.

At 8:40 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were down 19 points, or

0.04%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 8.25 points, or 0.12% and

Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 45.25 points, or 0.19%.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed at record highs on Monday,

helped by robust gains in Tesla and Alphabet,

with the latter zooming past $3 trillion in market valuation for

the first time.

Wall Street's main indexes have gained so far in September,

a month that is deemed bad for U.S. equities historically. Data

compiled by LSEG showed that the benchmark S&P 500 has lost 1.5%

on average in September since 2000.

Among other stocks, Dave & Buster's Entertainment

plunged 17.2% before the bell after the entertainment and dining

venues operator missed analysts' expectations for second-quarter

revenue and profit.

Chipotle Mexican Grill ( CMG ) gained 1.6% after raising its

share buyback authorization.

Webtoon Entertainment ( WBTN ) soared about 30% after the

online comics platform and Disney ( DIS ) agreed to create a new

digital comics platform to feature comic content from Disney's ( DIS )

portfolio, including Marvel and Star Wars.

Warner Bros Discovery ( WBD ) fell 1.9%. TD Cowen

downgraded

the media company's rating to "hold" from "buy".