US STOCKS-S&P 500 set for another record open as Trump says close to trade deal

(For a live blog on the U.S. stock market, click LIVE/ or

type LIVE/ in a news window.)

* 3M Co rises as J.P. Morgan upgrades rating on stock

* Apache Corp up after joint venture with rival Total

* Futures up: Dow 0.19%, S&P 500 0.19%, Nasdaq 0.27%

(Adds comments, updates price action)

By Manas Mishra

Dec 23 (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were set to

open at another record high on Monday, as President Donald Trump

said over the weekend that the United States and China would

"very shortly" sign their initial trade pact.

The so-called "phase one" deal, announced earlier this

month, has helped fuel a rally on Wall Street, with the

benchmark index hitting a record closing high on Friday for the

seventh time in eight sessions.

Last week, the S&P 500 also logged its biggest weekly

percentage gain since early September, and is on track for its

best annual performance since 2013. Adding to the optimism, China said on Sunday it would cut

tariffs on products including frozen pork, avocado and some

types of semiconductors next year. "The end of the year rally is continuing for the right

reasons," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Spartan

Capital Securities in New York. "The market is focusing on the

fact that we're seeing some daylight in the trade war."

On Friday, markets also cheered data showing a rise in

consumer spending, the latest in a slew of encouraging

indicators that have helped eased recession fears.

Few economic indicators are expected in a trading week

shortened by the Christmas holiday, with focus turning to the

U.S. personal consumption expenditure deflator for November due

on Friday.

At 8:19 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 54 points, or

0.19%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 6 points, also 0.19%,

while Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 23.5 points, or 0.27%.

Among stocks, Tesla Inc TSLA.O rose 2% in premarket

trading. The electric vehicle maker and a group of China banks

have agreed to a new 10 billion yuan ($1.4 billion), five-year

loan facility for the automaker's Shanghai car plant, Reuters

reported, citing sources. 3M Co MMM.N rose 0.8% after J.P. Morgan upgraded its

rating on the Post-It notes maker's stock, citing a potential

uptick in the company's electronics business, which makes

products including fluids and abrasives used in computer chips

manufacturing.

Apache Corp APA.N jumped 7.3% after the oil and gas

producer said it has formed a joint venture with France's Total

TOTF.PA to develop a project off Suriname.