MARKET PULSE-Microsoft, Amgen, Verizon, Nokia, coal producers

(For more market insights, including options activity, click on ; for the Day Ahead newsletter http://link.reuters.com/mex49s; for the Morning News Call newsletter, http://link.reuters.com/nex49s)

Sept 3 (Reuters) - Some U.S. stocks to watch on Tuesday:

FUTURES SURGE AS POTENTIAL SYRIA ACTION DELAYED

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a sharply higher open on Tuesday after U.S. President Barack Obama opted to seek congressional authorization for military action against Syria, a move that was likely to delay any strike for at least several days. S&P 500 futures rose 14.7 points and were above fair value, Dow Jones (DJI: ^DJI - news) industrial average futures added 105 points and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 21 points.

** CYTOKINETICS INC, $7.75, down 26 pct premarket

** AMGEN INC (Xetra: 867900 - news) , Friday close $108.94

An experimental heart failure drug from Amgen and Cytokinetics missed its goal of improving shortness of breath in a mid-stage clinical trial, leaving its future uncertain.

** MICROSOFT CORP, $32.35, down 3 pct premarket

** NOKIA CORP, $5.53, up 42 pct premarket

Two years after hitching its fate to Microsoft (NasdaqGS: MSFT - news) 's Windows Phone software, Nokia (Stockholm: NOKI-SEK.ST - news) collapsed into the arms of the U.S. software giant on Tuesday, agreeing to sell its main handset business for 5.44 billion euros ($7.2 billion).

** VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS, $45.00, down 5 pct premarket

** VODAFONE GROUP, $31.95, down 1 pct premarket

Verizon Communications agreed on Monday to pay $130 billion to buy Vodafone Group out of its U.S. wireless business, signing history's third largest corporate deal announcement to bring an end to an often tense 14-year marriage.

** CONSTELLATION BRANDS INC (NYSE: STZ - news) , Friday close $54.25, up 3 pct premarket

Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS-PB - news) upgraded the world's largest wine company's stock to "buy" from "neutral," according to Theflyonthewall.com.

** SUNTECH POWER HOLDINGS CO LTD, $0.81, down 16.5 pct premarket

The Chinese solar panel maker, whose main manufacturing unit is in insolvency proceedings, said it had a reached a deal with creditors to convert debt into equity and also said a strategic investor would buy new shares, providing funds.

The company said in the statement that it expected to enter a restructuring agreement "in the next week or so."

** BANK OF AMERICA CORP, Friday close $14.12

Bank of America (Other OTC: BACYL - news) launched on Tuesday an up to $1.5 billion share offering in China Construction Bank Corp (CCB), exiting an eight-year investment in China's second-biggest lender in a bid to shore up its own balance sheet.

** PEABODY ENERGY CORP (NYSE: BTU - news) , $17.55, up 2.3 pct premarket

** ARCH COAL INC (NYSE: ACI - news) , $4.61, up 2.9 pct premarket

** JAMES RIVER COAL CO (NasdaqGS: JRCC - news) , $2.23, up 5.2 pct premarket

** WALTER ENERGY INC (NYSE: WLT - news) , $13.30, up 3 pct premarket

** ALPHA NATURAL RESOURCES INC (NYSE: ANR - news) , $6.26, up 3 pct premarket

Front-month gas futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange were up 2 percent at $3.653 per million British thermal units early Monday morning, lifting coal stocks. Coal competes with natural gas for use in power production, and higher gas prices are seen as a positive because they may encourage coal-to-natural gas switching at utilities.

** JARDEN CORP (NYSE: JAH - news) , Friday close $42.95

The U.S. consumer products company has agreed to buy scented candle maker Yankee Candle Company Inc for $1.75 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

** J C PENNEY CO INC $12.79, up 3 pct premarket

Hayman Capital reported a 5.2 percent stake in the U.S. retailer.

** FREEPORT-MCMORAN COPPER & GOLD INC, $30.88, up 2.2 pct premarket

The Indonesian unit of the miner has lifted its force majeure at the world's second-biggest copper mine, almost four months after a deadly accident at the remote Papua complex, the local CEO said on Tuesday.

** CLIFFS NATURAL RESOURCES INC (NYSE: CLF - news) , $21.53, up 4 pct premarket

The miner's shares inched up after iron ore rose for the first session in four as Chinese steelmakers ramped up production amid a strong consumption season, boosting appetite for the raw material.

** HALOZYME THERAPEUTICS INC (NasdaqGS: HALO - news) , $9.24, up 8 pct premarket

The European Commission approved a new formulation of Roche's breast cancer drug Herceptin, which allows the medicine to be administered more quickly. The new injectable version, which uses Halozyme's enzyme technology, cuts down treatment time to just two to five minutes.

** DRYSHIPS INC (NasdaqGS: DRYS - news) , Friday close $2.35, up 1 pct premarket

** OCEAN RIG UDW INC (NasdaqGS: ORIG - news) , Friday close $17.44

The contract drilling unit of Dryships said it had signed an agreement to amend certain provisions in its $1.35 billion debt facility and that it had signed at $600 million-contract with Samsung Heavy Industries to build an ultra deepwater drillship.

** LOGITECH INTERNATIONAL SA (NasdaqGS: LOGI - news) , $7.79, up 7 pct premarket

The computer accessories maker launched its first products for Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's Galaxy Tab 3, which includes an ultra thin built-in keyboard and protective cases made from water-repellant materials that provide front and back protection. The Ultrathin Keyboard Folio and Logitech Folio are expected to be available in the U.S., Europe and some Asian countries from October 2013.

** ERICSSON (Stockholm: ERIC-B.ST - news) , $12.37, up 5 pct premarket

The global number one mobile network infrastructure firm said on Monday it would build three new data centres over the next five years at a cost of around 7 billion Swedish crowns ($1.05 billion).

(Compiled by Varun Aggarwal; Editing by Sreejiraj Eluvangal)