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

(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 on the move on Tuesday:

WALL ST OPENS HIGHER AFTER SYRIA ACTION DELAY

U.S. stocks rose at the 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. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 74.18 points or 0.5 percent, the S&P 500 gained 13.84 points or 0.85 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite added 39.757 points or 1.11 percent.

** CYTOKINETICS INC, $8.40, down 20 pct (9:35 a.m. ET)

** AMGEN INC (Xetra: 867900 - news) , $111.20 (9:35 a.m. ET)

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, $31.87, down 5 pct (9:36 a.m. ET)

** NOKIA CORP, $5.44, up 40 pct

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, $45.47, down 4 pct (9:37 a.m. ET)

** VODAFONE GROUP, $31.15, flat

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.

** ARQULE INC (NasdaqGM: ARQL - news) , $2.42, down 13 pct (9.36 a.m. ET)

The drugmaker said a late-stage trial of its liver cancer drug showed high incidence of low white blood cell count in patients, leading to an independent safety committee recommending the company lower the drug dose.

** SUNTECH POWER HOLDINGS CO LTD, $0.91, down 12 pct (9:37 a.m. ET)

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, $14.37 (9:38 a.m. ET)

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) , $17.71, up 3 pct (9:39 a.m. ET)

** ARCH COAL INC (NYSE: ACI - news) , $4.63, up 4 pct

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) , $45.53, up 6 pct (9:40 a.m. ET)

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.

** FREEPORT-MCMORAN COPPER & GOLD INC, $31.10, up 3 pct (9:41 a.m. ET)

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) , $21.69, up 4 pct (9:41 a.m. ET)

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) , $8.64, up 5 pct (9:41 a.m. ET)

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.

** D.R. HORTON INC, $18.10, up 1.4 pct (10:44 a.m. ET)

** PULTEGROUP INC (NYSE: PHA - news) , $15.74, up 2.3 pct

** TOLL BROTHERS INC (NYSE: TOL - news) , $30.93, up 1 pct

** LENNAR CORP (NYSE: LEN - news) , $32.17, up 1 pct

** KB HOME (NYSE: KBH - news) , $16.44, up 3 pct

U.S. construction spending rose in July as more outlays to build homes and businesses countered a decline in the government sector. Construction spending climbed 0.6 percent to an annual rate of $901 billion, the Commerce Department said. The growth rate was above the median forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts.

** DRYSHIPS INC (NasdaqGS: DRYS - news) , $2.40, up 3 pct (9:42 a.m. ET)

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 6 pct (9:43 a.m. ET)

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) , $12.54, up 6 pct (9:44 a.m. ET)

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).

** ISIS PHARMACEUTICALS (Stuttgart: 881866 - news) , $27.35, up 6 pct (9:45 a.m. ET)

An experimental drug from Isis Pharmaceuticals produced a sharp reduction in levels of triglycerides, a type of fat in the blood that increases the risk of heart disease, a small mid-stage trial showed.

** RIO TINTO (Xetra: 855018 - news) , $47.63, up 5.6 pct (09:58 a.m. ET)

China Molybdenum has cleared a key hurdle to taking control of Rio Tinto Northparkes copper mine, with Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining and Sumitomo Corp deciding not to match the Chinese miner's $820 million bid.

** ESPERION THERAPEUTICS INC (NasdaqGM: ESPR - news) , $16.60, up 3 pct (10:05 a.m. ET)

The drugmaker said its drug reduced levels of bad blood fat in a mid-stage trial among patients with high levels of cholesterol, when added to a standard of care treatment.

** ENPHASE ENERGY INC (NasdaqGM: ENPH - news) , $6.56, up 4 pct (10.00 a.m. ET)

Roth Capital started coverage of the micro-inverter maker with a "buy rating", saying the company's first-mover advantage, combined with industry-leading technology and solid distribution channels, had given it a large share in the US residential market, while setting the stage for increasing penetration into international markets.

** LEAPFROG ENTERPRISES INC (NYSE: LF - news) , $9.06, down 5.8 pct (10:01 a.m. ET)

Brokerage BMO Capital Markets cut its rating on the toy maker's stock to "market perform" from "outperform," according to Theflyonthewall.com.

** KEY ENERGY SERVICES INC (NYSE: KEG - news) , $7.10, up 6 pct (10:28 a.m. ET)

Analysts at Barclays (LSE: BARC.L - news) upgraded the oilfield services company to "overweight" from "equal weight," citing an improved long-term outlook for operations in Mexico and increasing confidence that activity in the U.S. land market would exceed expectations in the second half of 2013. Analysts at Global Hunter Securities also raised their rating on the stock to "buy" from "neutral".

** CBS Corp, $53.75, up 5 pct (10:47 a.m. ET)

The U.S. broadcaster said it has reached an agreement with Time Warner Cable Inc (NYSE: TWC - news) to end a month-long blackout of its stations in New York, Los Angeles and Dallas. (Compiled by Varun Aggarwal; Editing by Sreejiraj Eluvangal)