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Futures up: Dow 0.31%, S&P 500 0.67%, Nasdaq up 1%

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Deutsche Bank sees S&P 500 rising to 8,000 by 2026 end

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Bristol Myers gains after rivals positive late-stage data

(Updates to before markets open)

By Johann M Cherian and Pranav Kashyap

Nov 24 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were set

to open higher on Monday, buoyed by expectations of an imminent

Federal Reserve rate cut in December, while investors were also

combing for fresh data to gauge the central bank's next move.

Stocks hit a volatile patch this month as investors worried

the AI boom may be morphing into a bubble, while a prolonged

U.S. government shutdown starved Wall Street of the economic

data it relies on to gauge the health of the world's largest

economy.

Dovish remarks from influential New York Fed President John

Williams offered some respite on the policy front last week but

was also a reflection on how divided policymakers were ahead of

December's FOMC meeting.

Investors are pricing in a 77.9% chance the central bank

will deliver a 25-basis-point interest rate cut next month,

compared with 42% a week earlier, according to CME Group's

FedWatch Tool.

"The dominant theme for now remains uncertainty. We're going

to remain in a choppy market up until December 10 when we get

the Fed's decision and the commentary that goes around it," said

Lilian Chovin, head of asset allocation at Coutts.

At 08:25 a.m. ET, Dow E-minis were up 145 points, or

0.31%, S&P 500 E-minis were up 43.25 points, or 0.67%,

and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 242 points, or 1%.

CONSUMER RESILIENCE IN SPOTLIGHT AS HOLIDAY SEASON KICKS OFF

September retail sales and producer prices data are expected

this week, ahead of the holiday shopping season that starts with

the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday, extending into Black

Friday and Cyber Monday.

Consumption patterns, the backbone of the American economy,

will be scrutinized at a time when multiple companies announced

layoffs, data pointed to rising unemployment and U.S. tariffs

weighed on sentiment.

"We're going to look at spending at different levels of

wealth to see whether different types of consumers are holding

off better than others," Chovin said.

The National Retail Federal said it expected U.S. holiday

sales to surpass $1 trillion for the first time. Last week,

Walmart, the United States' largest retail chain, raised its

annual forecasts. Shares of Walmart were up 0.2% in

premarket trading.

Earnings from consumer-oriented companies including Dick's

Sporting Goods and Best Buy ( BBY ) are expected later

this week.

TECH VALUATION WORRIES PERSIST

Despite AI-bellwether Nvidia's ( NVDA ) strong forecast last

week, ballooning valuations of the tech sector has plagued

markets for much of this month.

Wall Street's main indexes are headed for monthly losses in

November, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq on track

for their steepest declines since fears of a tariff hike sparked

a selloff in March.

Deutsche Bank lifted some of the gloom, projecting the S&P

500 would surge to 8,000 by the end of 2026, citing

resilient corporate earnings and AI-driven gains - the most

bullish call among major global brokerages.

Meanwhile, Bristol-Myers gained 4.2% after European

rival Bayer unveiled positive late-stage data for its

cardiovascular drug.

Some U.S. health insurers and hospital operators gained

after a report said Trump's health plan could see subsidy

extensions for two years.

Centene ( CNC ) surged 9.7%, Oscar health rose

22.8% and Unitedhealth ( UNH ) gained 2.7%.