U.S. PRE-MARKET INDICATORS

-Dow Industrial futures up 5 points.

-S&P 500 futures up 2 points.

-Nasdaq 100 futures down 4 points.

-Nasdaq-100 Pre-Market Indicator down 13.82 at 1695.94.

GLOBAL SENTIMENT

Nikkei down 2.6%

Hang Seng down 0.1%

FTSE-100 up 0.7%

PRE-MARKET SECTOR WATCH

(+,-) Large cap tech: mixed

(-) Chip stocks: lower

(+,-) Small cap stocks: mixed

(+) Drug stocks: mostly higher

(+) Software stocks: firmer

(+,-) Internet stocks: mixed

(+) Financial stocks: mostly firmer

(+) Auto stocks: firmer

(+) Airline stocks: firmer

(+,-) Retail stocks: mixed

UPSIDE MOVERS

(+) SLE (+7.6%) sells unit to Unilever for $1.88 bln; sets $1 bln buyback.

(+) MCD (+0.5%) hikes dividend.

(+) TIBX (+6.5%) beat with results.

(+) ALTH (+13.1%) says FDA grants accelerated approval for lymphoma treatment.

(+) MFE (flat) gets analyst upgrade.

(+) F (-0.3%) to build third assembly plant in China.

(+) C (-1.1%) reportedly in talks with Barclays to sell some retail assets in Portugal.

(+) UAUA (+4%) part of airline sector analyst upgrade.

(+) AONE (+3.1%) looks to continue IPO run.

(+) PALM (+0.6%) dips then recovers; backs FY outlook.

DOWNSIDE MOVERS

(-) RIMM (-13.8%) missed with Q2 revenue and guides for Q3 rev miss.

(-) UCBI (-17.1%) prices shares.

(-) HERO (-4.9%) prices shares.

(-) KBH (-6.2%) loss narrows from year-ago quarter but revenue drops 33%.

(-) METR (-7.7%) prices shares.

(-) EMCI (-7.9%) gets analyst downgrade.

MARKET DIRECTION

Stock futures turned lower, then improved to trade narrowly mixed, following the release of unexpectedly weak durable goods orders data. Futures were just positive ahead of the data. U.S. stocks fell in back-to-back sessions over the last two days, with averages depressed Thursday following an unexpected drop for home resales after several months of improvement.

A decline for the volatile airline sector pushed down August durable goods orders by an unexpected 2.4%. Orders excluding transportation were flat, the weakest reading since April.

More housing data is on tap for Friday; new home sales are due out at 10 a.m. ET and economists look for a slightly better clip of sales in August vs July. A measure of consumer sentiment will also be released after trading opens this morning.

The dollar has edged higher after initial declines pushed the greenback to new seven-month lows against the Japanese yen. November crude surrendered its early advance, last trading down $0.77 at $65.12 a barrel.

As for company news, Research in Motion's (RIMM) revenue warning is limiting any advance in the broader tech space. Rival Palm (PALM) also fell after it backed its fiscal year guidance but shares have since recovered.

RIM missed with Q2 revenue and guided for Q3 revs to miss.

Tibco Software (TIBX) is a morning gainer after it beat with Q3 results in last evening's extended-hours period.

UAL (UAUA), AMR (AMR), Alaska Air (ALKS) and Continental Airlines (CAL) and US Airways (LCC) are upgraded to Buy vs Neutral at UBS. UBS cited an economic recovery and lower bankruptcy risk.