Stock futures flat as investors fathom Fed comments on rates

[August 29, 2016]  By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were little changed on Monday as investors tried to decipher comments from top Federal Reserve officials on the timing of the next interest rate hike.

* 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.

* The statements left investors skeptical about the central bank's motives, especially given that it has seldom followed its rhetoric with real action.

* 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's comments were seen as being less hawkish than expected, but ended lower after Fischer's remarks.

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

* Data due on Monday includes a report from the U.S. Commerce Department, which is likely to show consumer spending edged up 0.3 percent in July. The report is expected at 8:30 a.m. ET (1230 GMT).

* Mylan shares rose 1.2 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.

FILE PHOTO: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as a television screen displays coverage of U.S. Federal Reserve Chairmman Janet Yellen, in New York, New York, U.S. December 16, 2015. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson/File Photo

Futures snapshot at 7:11 a.m. ET:

* Dow e-minis were up 1 points, or 0.01 percent, with 13,248 contracts changing hands.

* S&P 500 e-minis were up 0.25 points, or 0.01 percent, with 102,457 contracts traded.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis remained unchanged, on volume of 17,670 contracts.

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

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