Wall St futures rise, consumer sentiment data eyed

U.S. health care company Johnson & Johnson is in talks to pay 1.75 billion euros ($2.3 billion) for the shares in Dutch biotech Crucell it does not already own to strengthen its vaccine business. Crucell shares jumped 55 percent.

At 1355 GMT, Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers release preliminary September consumer sentiment index. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a reading of 70.0 compared with 68.9 in the final August report.

Shares of Oracle listed in Frankfurt were up 3.6 percent. The company posted a 25 percent surge in software sales that sharply beat forecasts and a pickup in its new hardware business, underscoring robust tech spending by corporations.

Labor Department releases the August Consumer Price Index (CPI) at 1230 GMT. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a 0.2 percent increase compared with a 0.3 percent rise in July.

Enbridge Inc will restart a major oil pipeline carrying up to a third of Canada's U.S.-bound crude shipments on Friday, eight days after it was shut to stop a leak.

Economic Cycle Research Institute (ECRI) releases at 1430 GMT its weekly index of economic activity for September 10.

U.S.-listed shares of Research In Motion jumped 6.5 percent after the close on Thursday following its results.

Data on real earnings for August is due at 1230 GMT. Economists forecast a rise of 0.1 percent, versus a 0.2 percent increase in July.

Resource-related stocks in focus as crude oil prices rebounded and key base metals rose 1.1 to 1.8 percent.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner vowed on Thursday to rally other world powers to push China for trade and currency reforms as he was grilled by lawmakers demanding a crackdown on Beijing's policies.

VMware Inc is in advanced talks to buy Novell Inc's Linux operating system business, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.2 percent to a six-week closing high while European shares rose, with miners gaining after copper prices gained following reassuring comments from China about its monetary policy. <.T> <.EU>

U.S. stocks were little changed on Thursday as mixed economic data and a cautious forecast from economic bellwether FedEx kept the market locked in its recent tight trading range.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> gained 22.10 points, or 0.2 percent, to 10,594.83. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> was virtually unchanged at 1,124.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> gained 1.93 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,303.25.

(Reporting by Atul Prakash; Editing by David Holmes)

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