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U.S. stock index futures were inching higher on Friday aftermajor indexes suffered their biggest drop since July, ahead ofdata on economic growth and consumer optimism.
Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 0.25percent at 16,942, S&P 500 futures were up 0.19 percentat 1,965.25 and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 0.24 percentat 4,017.
** BLACKBERRY LTD, Thursday close $9.8, +1.73 pctpremarket
The Canadian smartphone maker said itssecond-quarter loss narrowed to $207 million from $965 million ayear earlier in early sign turnaround efforts may be working.Still, revenue fell nearly 42 percent to $916 million, missingthe average analyst estimate of $949.63 million.
** ACELRX PHARMACEUTICALS INC, Thursday close$6.72, -17.71 pct premarket
The U.S. FDA said it would take another six months to reviewa marketing application on the drugmaker's recently rejectedpain management device.
** REPROS THERAPEUTICS INC, Thursday close $8.96,+11.61 pct premarket
The drug developer said its experimental drug to treat lowtestosterone, Androxal, met the main goal of late-stage study.
The U.S FDA has granted the company a pre-drug approvalmeeting to discuss Androxal in the first half of November.
** DIAMOND FOODS INC, Thursday close $26.62, +5.18pct premarket
The packaged food company reported better-than-expectedquarterly adjusted profit and sales, helped by higher demand forsnacks such as Pop Secret popcorn and Kettle potato chips.
** MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC, Thursday close $31.7, +6.91pct premarket
The memory chipmaker posted fiscal fourth-quarter resultsand gave a revenue outlook that impressed Wall Street as signsof stabilization in the personal computer industry supporteddemand for DRAM chips.
At least ten brokerages including Stifel Nicolaus andRaymond James raised their price targets on the stock.
** NIKE INC, Thursday close $79.75, +7.57 pctpremarket
The world's largest sportswear maker reported abetter-than-expected quarterly profit as it gains market sharein Europe and focuses on higher-margin products such as Flyknitsoccer boots.
Janney Capital Markets upgraded the stock to "buy" from"neutral" and at least 13 brokerages raised their price target.
** FINISH LINE INC, Thursday close $29.41, -10.06pct premarket
The footwear retailer posted a quarterly profit that missedWall Street's estimate, hurt by lower demand for basketballsporting goods. Its merchandise inventory increases 11.5percent.
** ALIBABA GROUP HOLDING LTD, Thursday close$88.92, +0.90 pct premarket
The newest way to bet on the fortunes of Chinese e-commerceheavyweight Alibaba will debut on Monday when its stock optionsgo live for trading, and investors should look for the initialaction to be very busy, but also choppy and potentially pricey.Options market traders say Alibaba puts and calls will likelysee heavy demand given the interest shown so far in the stocksince its record-setting $25 billion IPO last week.
** INTEL CORP Thursday close $34.14, +0.76 pctpremarket
Intel said it will pay as much as $1.5 billion for a 20percent stake in two mobile chipmakers with ties to the Chinesegovernment, in the hopes of catching up in a smartphone chipindustry dominated by rival Qualcomm Inc.
** APPLE INC, Thursday close $97.87, +0.92 pctpremarket
Apple broke its silence on complaints about bending iPhones,hours after withdrawing a glitch-ridden software update as thecompany struggles to restore momentum to the rollout of itslatest phones.
** ASTRAZENECA, Thursday close $70.99, +1.25 pctpremarket
The British pharmaceutical company said an expandeduse of its IRESSA treatment for lung cancer has been recommendedfor approval by European regulators. (Compiled by Shailaja Sharma in Bangalore; Editing by SavioD'Souza)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
