Yahoo active as Alibaba debuts; Dresser-Rand jumps

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Shares of Yahoo were gaining 1.7 percent in the highest volume by far on the Nasdaq early on Friday, after Alibaba priced its initial public offering at $68 a share, the top end of the expected range.

Yahoo, which is selling part of its Alibaba stake but will remain a top shareholder, has risen 4.1 percent so far this year, compared with a 10 percent gain in the Nasdaq Composite.

Dresser-Rand was gaining 13.4 percent in heavy volume on the NYSE, after a report that Germany's Siemens plans to offer more than $6.1 billion, or $80 per share, for the U.S. compressor and turbine maker.

The offer would put Siemens in competition with Swiss pump maker Sulzer, which said on Wednesday it was in talks on a potential merger with Dresser-Rand.

U.S. stock index futures were rising in light volume early on Friday, building on record highs set in the previous session by the Dow industrials and S&P 500 and ahead of Alibaba's debut on the New York Stock Exchange.

Oracle shares fell 2.8 percent premarket after Larry Ellison, co-founder and leader for 37 years, stepped aside as chief executive officer. He will be replaced by co-CEOs Safra Catz and Mark Hurd, raising questions about a job-sharing arrangement that has had mixed records elsewhere.

The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index for August is due at 10:00 a.m. The index posted a 0.9 percent increase in July.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe and Chizu Nomiyama)