* Trump to hold 3:30 p.m. ET meeting on tariffs
* Express Scripts jumps after Cigna's
* Kroger falls after FY profit forecast misses
* Futures up: Dow 10 pts, S&P 5.75 pts, Nasdaq 32.25 pts(Adds details, comment, updates prices)
By Sruthi Shankar
March 8 (Reuters) - Wall Street was set to open higher onThursday as fears of a global trade war ebbed following signsthat President Donald Trump's proposed hefty import tariffs onsteel and aluminum could exclude key trading partners.
Markets fell sharply on Wednesday following the resignationof chief economic adviser Gary Cohn, a strong advocate of freetrade, on concerns the move would make it more easier for Trumpto push ahead with his plans.
But Wall Street's main indexes recovered after a White Housespokeswoman said Trump's tariffs plan may include "potentialcarve-outs for
"Anything that would suggest a little bit of a roll backfrom the tariffs is viewed as positive," said Scott Brown, chiefeconomist at Raymond James in
Trump said in a tweet on Thursday he would hold a meeting at3:30 p.m. ET over his planned tariffs and that
The plan has faced strong opposition from most of keypartners, with
By 8:31 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were up 10 points. S&P500 e-minis rose 5.75 points and Nasdaq 100 e-miniswere up 32.25 points.
Among stocks, Express Scripts soared 17 percentafter health insurer Cigna agreed to buy the pharmacybenefits manager for
Kroger fell 5 percent after the supermarket chainissued a disappointing full-year profit forecast.
American Eagle Outfitters rose 3.3 percent as salesat established stores topped analysts' estimates for the holidayshopping quarter.
A Labor Department report showed initial jobless claimsrebounded from a more than 48-year low last week, but the trendcontinued to point to robust labor market conditions.
A comprehensive reading on jobs and wage is expected onFriday. The average hourly earnings is expected to slow to 2.8percent in February on an annualized basis, from 2.9 percent inJanuary.
Investors are worried that higher wages could lead to fasterinterest rate increases by the Federal Reserve and makeborrowing expensive for companies.(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; additional reportingby Parikshit Mishra; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)