US STOCKS-Wall Street set for subdued open ahead of first presidential debate

* First presidential debate due to start at 9 p.m. EDT
* Democratic sweep modestly positive for S&P 500 profits -
GS
* Consumer confidence data for September at 10 a.m. EDT
* Futures off: Dow 0.13%, S&P 0.14%, Nasdaq 0.32%

(Adds comment; updates prices)
By Devik Jain and Shreyashi Sanyal
Sept 29 (Reuters) - Wall Street's main indexes were set for
a muted open on Tuesday as investors stayed away from making big
bets ahead of the first presidential debate, while awaiting a
reading on consumer confidence.
President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden
will square off later in the day in their first 90-minute
televised debate in Cleveland, Ohio, five weeks before the
election. Polls show Biden leading Trump nationally and in a
number of key battleground states. "It's end of the month, most of the rebalancing is in the
rear-view mirror and the market has its eyes set on the debate
tonight for an indication of how policy is going to look in the
next 12 months," said Thomas Hayes, managing member at Great
Hill Capital LLC in New York.
Goldman Sachs analysts said a victory for Biden in the
election, along with the Democratic party controlling the Senate
and the House of Representatives, would be slightly beneficial
to profits for S&P 500 firms through 2024. Among sectors, a stronger "green energy" push under a Biden
administration could support alternative energy stocks, while a
Trump victory could spell additional relief for companies that
benefited from the president's corporate tax cuts. "This is the most important thing to watch because the
potential change in tax plan could really have a significant
impact on the stock market," Hayes said.
Speculation around the election has partly pushed up
volatility .VIX on Wall Street, with the S&P 500 .SPX ending
sharply higher on Monday on bargain hunting for some laggard
sectors following a deep slump earlier in September.
While the benchmark index is on track for its first monthly
decline since the pandemic-related lockdowns in March, it is
still set for its two best back-to-back quarters since 2009. The
tech-heavy Nasdaq .IXIC is on track for its biggest
two-quarter jump since 2000.
At 8:27 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were down 35 points,
or 0.13%, S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were down 4.75 points, or
0.14%, and Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were down 37 points, or
0.32%.
Consumer confidence data for September, due at 10 a.m. ET,
could add to signs of a slowing economic recovery.
Among stocks, Sorrento Therapeutics SRNE.O jumped 7.3% in
premarket trading after the drugmaker said both its COVID-19
antibody candidates showed potent neutralizing activities
against the coronavirus in a study in Syrian golden hamsters.
Fitbit Inc FIT.N gained 4.3% after Reuters reported
Alphabet's GOOGL.O unit Google is poised to win EU approval
for its $2.1 billion acquisition of fitness tracker maker with
its latest concessions to address EU antitrust concerns.