(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or
type LIVE/ in a news window.)
* China cuts interest rate for 2nd month in a row
* U.S. temporarily exempts Chinese goods from tariffs
* Chipmaker stocks up as trade talks gather steam
* Futures rise: Dow 0.24%, S&P 0.22%, Nasdaq 0.34%
(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By Ambar Warrick and Medha Singh
Sept 20 (Reuters) - U.S. stock indexes were set to open
slightly higher on Friday as an interest rate cut by China's
central bank and signs of more co-operation on trade allayed
concerns about a slowdown in global growth.
China cut its new one-year benchmark lending rate for the
second month in a row on Friday, days after the Federal Reserve
and the European Central Bank reduced borrowing costs and left
the door open for further monetary stimulus. U.S. equities were set to end the week fairly unchanged
after a rough start, sparked by attacks on Saudi oil facilities.
Hopes of additional stimulus calmed investor nerves later in the
week, nudging the benchmark S&P 500 closer to its record high
hit in July.
"The market does seem to be in a bit of a waiting pattern,
looking for indication for whether the economy will gain
strength or the alternative indication that we are going to slow
further," said Rick Meckler, a partner at Cherry Lane
Investments, a family investment office in New Vernon, New
Jersey.
Market participants are hopeful of a de-escalation in
U.S.-China trade tensions as low-level trade talks between the
two countries are underway, following tariff concessions last
week.
On Thursday, the U.S. Trade Representative's office said
dozens more Chinese products would be excluded from existing
tariffs, including dog collars, some printed circuit boards used
in computers, certain auto parts and Christmas tree lights.
At 9:01 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 66 points, or
0.24%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 6.5 points, or 0.22% and
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 26.75 points, or 0.34%.
Markets are likely to become more volatile during Friday's
session on account of "quadruple witching," as investors unwind
interests in futures and options contracts prior to expiration.
Shares of major chipmakers, which have been hit particularly
hard by the trade war, rose in premarket trading. Advanced Micro
Devices Inc AMD.O was up about 0.4%, while Micron Technology
Inc MU.O rose 1.0%%.
However, chipmaker Xilinx Inc XLNX.O dropped 3%% after
Chief Financial Officer Lorenzo Flores said he would step down,
prompting Bank of America Merrill to downgrade its stock to
"neutral".
Netflix Inc NFLX.O slipped 1.1% as Evercore ISI said
recent data checks painted an uncertain picture of the streaming
service provider's international subscriber growth. Roku Inc ROKU.O dropped 5.2% after Pivotal Research
started coverage of its shares with a "sell" rating.