US STOCKS-Wall St set to open higher as Mnuchin comments allay trade concerns

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* Trade-sensitive chipmaker stocks rise
* Sept consumer confidence data expected at 10:00 a.m. ET
* Apple rises after Jefferies assumes with 'buy'
* Futures up: Dow 0.27%, S&P 0.30%, Nasdaq 0.35%

(Adds comment, details; updates prices)
By Ambar Warrick
Sept 24 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were set to open higher on
Tuesday as Washington confirmed that trade negotiations with
China would resume in two weeks, easing some uncertainty caused
by the cancellation of a planned U.S. farm visit by Chinese
delegates last week.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Monday he and
Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer would meet with Chinese
Vice Premier Liu He for talks in early October, raising optimism
over a possible breakthrough in the prolonged trade war that has
been a drag on global growth. Mnuchin also clarified that the Trump administration had
requested Chinese officials to cancel the farming trip last
Friday. The news on cancellation had caused a sharp pullback in
U.S. stocks on the day.
"It's not so much that people have become positive on (trade
talks), but had taken the cancellation as a sign that the deal
was in trouble, and now the administration seems to be
suggesting that it's not," said Rick Meckler, partner, Cherry
Lane Investments, a family investment office in New Vernon, New
Jersey.
"The market seems to be in a pretty tight range, while they
await some more concrete news about the China situation."
Trade-sensitive chipmaker stocks rose, with Micron
Technology Inc MU.O , Nvidia Corp NVDA.O and Advanced Micro
Devices Inc AMD.O rising between 0.7% and 1.2% in premarket
trading.
Even as trade talks remain the primary focus, investors will
also keep a watch on the Conference Board's U.S. consumer
confidence reading for September that is expected to come in at
133.5 from a reading of 135.1 in August. The report is due at
10:00 a.m. ET (1400 GMT).
The reading will follow mixed economic data from the United
States and dismal manufacturing surveys out of the euro zone on
Monday that added to investor apprehensions over slowing global
growth.
"Markets are in this delicate period where investors don't
want too much acceleration because they are concerned that it
will put an end to low interest rates but they also don't want
enough slowing to impact corporate profits," Cherry Lane's
Meckler said.
The S&P 500 .SPX came within striking distance of its July
all-time high last week after the Federal Reserve cut interest
rates and left the door open for further easing. The index is
now 1.2% away from that peak.
Data due later this week, which includes the Fed's preferred
gauge for inflation, will offer insights into U.S. economic
health ahead of the third-quarter earnings season and the
central bank's policy meeting in October.
At 8:25 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis 1YMcv1 were up 72 points, or
0.27%. S&P 500 e-minis EScv1 were up 9 points, or 0.3% and
Nasdaq 100 e-minis NQcv1 were up 27.75 points, or 0.35%.
Apple Inc AAPL.O gained 0.9% after Jefferies assumed
coverage with a "buy" rating and said Wall Street
"underestimates" the iPhone maker's position for the 5G cycle.
Video streaming platform Netflix Inc NFLX.O fell 0.3%
after Pivotal Research cut its price target.
Nike Inc NKE.N rose 0.6%, ahead of the world's largest
sportswear maker's first-quarter results after the bell.