Wall Street set to open flat as investors seek new catalysts

By Anya George Tharakan

(Reuters) - U.S. stocks looked set to open little changed on Friday as investors sought fresh cues to place their bets after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time this year.

Finance ministers and central bank heads from the Group of 20 major economies meet in Germany for two days to discuss the world economy.

Members are likely to renounce competitive devaluations and warn against exchange rate volatility, but have not yet found a common stance on trade and protectionism, according to a draft statement of their meeting.

"Today it appears as though we're going to have another day like yesterday, where the market is looking for something substantial to create the next move," said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital in Bernardsville, New Jersey.

Investors are now turning their attention to economic data, while also seeking clarity on President Donald Trump's proposed policies such as tax cuts and looser regulations.

A report from the Federal Reserve is expected to show that industrial production rebounded by 0.2 percent in February after falling 0.3 percent the previous month. The data is due at 9:15 a.m. ET (1315 GMT).

Separately, a report from the University of Michigan is expected to show the preliminary reading of the consumer sentiment index rose to 97 in March from 95.7 in February. The data is expected at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Dow e-minis were up 16 points, or 0.08 percent at 8:23 a.m. ET, with 1,936 contracts changing hands.

S&P 500 e-minis were down 1 point, or 0.04 percent, with 25,037 contracts traded.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis were up 2.5 points, or 0.05 percent, on volume of 2,147 contracts.

Wall Street slipped on Thursday, pressured by healthcare shares as traders cashed in gains from one of the best performing sectors so far this year.

Tiffany's shares rose 3.5 percent to $93.10, after the company posted a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, boosted by strong demand for its high-end jewelry in Japan and China.

Valeant was up 4.4 percent at $11.69 in premarket trading after ValueAct Capital raised its stake in the drug company.

Adobe was up 5.2 percent at $128.73 after the company posted better-than-expected quarterly results, buoyed by demand for its Creative Cloud package of software tools, which includes Photoshop.

(Reporting by Anya George Tharakan and Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva)