Futures up after Clinton seen winner in first debate

[September 27, 2016]  By Yashaswini Swamynathan

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures were slightly higher on Tuesday after investors awarded the first presidential debate to Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump.

The markets appear to see Clinton as the candidate of the status quo, while few are sure what a Trump presidency might mean for U.S. foreign policy, international trade deals or the domestic economy.

Snap polls after Monday's debate suggested Clinton had bolstered her chances. Markets across the globe swung higher on Tuesday.

Oil prices fell about 1.4 percent on Tuesday as hopes for a deal to cut output faded at a producer meeting in Algeria.

Wall Street closed lower in volatile trading on Monday after Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.DE> weighed on financials.

The German lender's U.S. stock <DB.N> continued to slide in premarket trading on Tuesday.

Investors will be following a speech by Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer for hints on the timing of the next interest rate hike.

Fischer, who has taken a hawkish stance on interest rates, is scheduled to speak at Howard University at 11:15 a.m. ET (1515 GMT).

Data on tap includes a report from the Conference Board, which is expected to show that the consumer confidence index dropped to 99 this month from 101.1 in August. The report is due at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Gilead <GILD.O> fell 0.91 percent to $79.89 after Leerink downgraded the drugmaker's stock to "market perform".

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S. September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - RTSOZIM

Kite Pharma jumped 12 percent to $61.59 after the company said its experimental CAR T-cell therapy, which helps the immune system fight cancer, was highly effective in treating aggressive non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Pipeline operator Sunoco dropped 7.1 percent to $27 after it agreed to buy Vitol Group's crude oil unit in Permian Basin in West Texas for $760 million.

Futures snapshot at 7:01 a.m. ET:

Dow e-minis were up 45 points, or 0.25 percent, with 36,707 contracts changing hands.

S&P 500 e-minis were up 6.25 points, or 0.29 percent, with 224,571 contracts traded.

Nasdaq 100 e-minis  were up 13.5 points, or 0.28 percent, on volume of 32,954 contracts.

(Reporting by Yashaswini Swamynathan in Bengaluru)

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