Wall St to open flat as investors weigh rate-hike odds

By Yashaswini Swamynathan

REUTERS - Wall Street was set to open little changed on Tuesday as investors weighed the chances of an interest rate hike following a lackluster jobs report.

Top Federal Reserve officials, encouraged by a string of strong economic data, had hinted that a rate hike could come as early as this month.

However, Friday's employment numbers dampened those expectations.

Traders now see a 21 percent chance of a rate hike this month, down from 24 percent, following Friday's jobs numbers. The odds edged down to 50.6 percent from 53.6 percent for December, according to CME Group's FedWatch tool.

The dollar index fell 0.2 percent on Tuesday.

"The markets probably got what they most wanted," said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital.

"The jobs number wasn't strong enough to strike fear of a rate hike this month, nor weak enough to cast doubts on the economy."

Dow e-minis were up 20 points, or 0.11 percent at 8:24 a.m. ET, with 31,613 contracts changing hands.

S&P 500 e-minis were up 1.75 points, or 0.08 percent, with 238,500 contracts traded.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 4.75 points, or 0.1 percent, on volume of 34,764 contracts.

A reading of the Institute for Supply Management's index for non-manufacturing activity is expected to remain little changed at 55 in August, compared with 55.5 percent in July. The report is due at 10:00 a.m. ET (1400 GMT).

Investors have been keeping a keen eye on comments from Fed officials for clues on when the next rate hike could come. San Francisco Fed President John Williams is scheduled to speak on economic outlook in Reno, Nevada on Tuesday.

Shares of molecular diagnostics company Cepheid soared 52.4 percent premarket after the company agreed to be bought by Danaher for $4 billion, including debt. Danaher's shares were marginally lower.

Navistar jumped 31.2 percent after Volkswagen agreed to supply engines to U.S. truck maker in exchange for a 16.6 percent stake.

Monsanto edged up 0.61 percent after German chemical maker Bayer sweetened its bid to buy the world's largest seed company.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)