US STOCKS-S&P 500, Nasdaq set for higher open on rate cut hopes; markets sift through retail data

• Futures: Dow down 0.04%, S&P 500 up 0.12%, Nasdaq up 0.19%
• Fed to begin two-day policy meeting on Tuesday
• Oracle shares up on TikTok deal framework report
• Retail sales rise 0.6% in August vs 0.2% estimate

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 ORCL.N 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 YMcv1 were down 19 points, or 0.04%, S&P 500 E-minis EScv1 were up 8.25 points, or 0.12% and Nasdaq 100 E-minis NQcv1 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 TSLA.O and Alphabet GOOGL.O, 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 PLAY.O 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.N gained 1.6% after raising its share buyback authorization.

Webtoon Entertainment WBTN.O soared about 30% after the online comics platform and Disney DIS.N agreed to create a new digital comics platform to feature comic content from Disney's portfolio, including Marvel and Star Wars.

Warner Bros Discovery WBD.O fell 1.9%. TD Cowen downgraded the media company's rating to "hold" from "buy".