Wall St set to open flat as investors digest Fed comments

By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) - Wall Street was set to open flat on Monday as investors pondered the timing of the next interest rate hike following comments from top Federal Reserve officials.

Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Friday the case for a rate increase was getting stronger, but provided little detail on when the central bank would next move.

Vice Chair Stanley Fischer, in an interview with CNBC the same day, suggested that a move as soon as next month could be possible.

"It's a delicate yet deliberate delivery of reality," said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital. "Rates are going to move higher, based on the economic evidence, but the "when" of the move is up in the air."

A report from the U.S. Commerce Department showed consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, rose for the fourth straight month in July.

However, in the 12 months through July the core personal consumption expenditure, the Fed's preferred inflation measure, increased 1.6 percent, below its 2 percent target.

Dow e-minis were up 7 points, or 0.04 percent at 8:31 a.m. ET (1231 GMT), with 15,364 contracts changing hands.

S&P 500 e-minis were up 1.75 points, or 0.08 percent, with 119,227 contracts traded.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 1.75 points, or 0.04 percent, on volume of 20,111 contracts.

The chances of a rate hike in September jumped to 33 percent from 21 percent, while the measure rose modestly to 44.4 percent from 41.4 percent for December, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

Wall Street gained on Friday after Yellen painted an upbeat picture of the economy and her comments were seen as being less hawkish than expected, but ended lower after Fischer's remarks.

The dollar index, which saw its best day in two months on Friday, was trading flat on Monday, while oil prices slipped more than 1 percent.

Mylan shares rose 2.5 percent in premarket trading after the drugmaker announced a generic version of its allergy treatment EpiPen.

Herbalife rose 4 percent after Carl Icahn bought 2.3 million shares in the nutritional supplements maker after denying reports of attempts to sell his stake.

Micron was up 2.12 percent after Deutsche Bank and Stifel raised price targets.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Don Sebastian)