US STOCKS-Wall St set to open higher on U.S.-China trade hopes

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* Tariff-sensitive Apple, Caterpillar rise
* Campbell Soup up after quarterly profit beat
* Ulta Beauty tumbles on full-year forecast cut
* Futures up: Dow 0.55%, S&P 0.58%, Nasdaq 0.59%

(Adds comments, details; Updates prices)
By Akanksha Rana
Aug 30 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks index futures pointed to a
higher open for Wall Street on Friday, as investors took comfort
from signals that the United States and China will resume trade
talks.
The three main indexes are on track to wrap up the week with
the biggest gains since June, after coming under immense selling
pressure for much of the month due to escalating trade tensions
and fears of a looming recession.
The benchmark S&P 500 .SPX index has fallen 3.4% from its
record high hit in late July. Markets will be shut for the Labor
Day holiday on Monday.
"It is a continuation of what we saw yesterday and there is
optimism that there's going to be some sort of progress, that
seems to be the biggest factor," said Scott Brown, chief
economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida.
China's Foreign Ministry said trade negotiating teams from
Washington and Beijing are maintaining effective communication,
a day after both sides discussed the next round of in-person
negotiations in September. Shares of trade-sensitive companies including Apple Inc
AAPL.O and Caterpillar Inc CAT.N were up nearly 1%
premarket.
Investors are also bracing for a new round of U.S. tariffs
on some Chinese goods that would come into effect on Sunday.
"The market believes that there will be some type of
negotiation, but there is real danger this trade conflict is
going to last, especially with the magnitude of September
tariffs," added Brown.
Further allaying fears of a recession was data from the
Commerce Department which showed U.S. consumer spending
increased strongly in July.
However, the report also suggested that the pace of growth
in consumption is unlikely to be sustained amid tepid income
gains. The inflation data will be followed by the monthly jobs
report and manufacturing numbers next week that would offer more
clarity on the chances of another interest rate cut.
At 8:44 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 146 points, or
0.55%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 17 points, or 0.58% and
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 45.75 points, or 0.59%.
Ulta Beauty Inc ULTA.O fell 25% after the cosmetics
company cut its full-year profit forecast. Shares of Estee
Lauder Cos Inc EL.N , e.l.f. Beauty Inc ELF.N and Coty Inc
COTY.N dropped between 0.5% and 1.3%.
Dell Technologies Inc DELL.N jumped 8.4% as the PC maker
beat analysts' estimates for profit, aided by higher demand for
desktops as well as a focus on more profitable contracts within
its server unit in China. U.S. food company Campbell Soup Co CPB.N rose 3.1% after
it reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit.
Marvell Technology Group Ltd MRVL.O fell 3.3% after the
chipmaker forecast third-quarter revenue below estimates.