US STOCKS-Auxilium jumps, steelmakers active in premarket trade

* Futures off: Dow 8 pts, S&P 1.5 pts, Nasdaq 6 pts (Adds trading in steelmakers, Auxilium)

By Rodrigo Campos

NEW YORK, Sept 17 (Reuters) - Auxilium Pharmaceuticals (NasdaqGS: AUXL - news) shares surged in brisk premarket trading Wednesday, a day after receiving an unsolicited offer from Endo International (NasdaqGS: ENDP - news) .

Auxilium adopted a poison pill with a 15 percent trigger on Wednesday, but its stock jumped 45 percent, with more than 760,000 shares traded. Analysts said the offer could complicate Auxilium's buyout of Canadian eye drug maker QLT Inc (NasdaqGS: QLTI - news) , whose U.S. shares were down 11.3 percent in light trading.

U.S. Steel shares rose 10.4 percent in premarket trading a day after the company estimated its results to be "significantly" higher than current Wall Street estimates.

The company also announced strategic actions that Goldman Sachs characterized as "the boldest steps by U.S. Steel management toward accelerating its transformation into a suitably profitable company."

AK Steel shares rose 5.1 percent before the opening bell.

U.S. stock index futures were little changed ahead of a key statement by the Federal Reserve which is expected to provide clues on the next monetary policy move by the U.S. central bank.

The Fed is expected to offer fresh indications on how soon it plans to begin lifting interest rates as it prepares for a shift in stance after years of aggressive monetary stimulus.

The S&P posted its best performance in a month Tuesday and the Dow industrials set a record intraday high amid wavering expectations regarding the Fed's stance.

Futures snapshot at 8:24 a.m. EDT (1224 GMT):

* S&P 500 e-minis fell 1.5 points, or 0.08 percent, with 110,031 contracts changing hands.

* Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 6 points, or 0.15 percent, in volume of 5,927 contracts.

* Dow e-minis were down 8 points, or 0.05 percent, with 4,214 contracts changing hands.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)