9:45AM Market averages lacked direction at opening.
U.S. stocks lacked direction at opening following downbeat economic news, with consumer spending down by the largest amount in a year and inflation higher by 2.5%. The Dow once again briefly tapped its all-time closing high, up to 11,724.78 surpassing its record-high close of 11,722.98 for the second session in a row.

Gold stocks showed significant weakness in early trading, as gold futures dropped $5.50 at $605.40 an ounce. While some weakness also emerged in the semiconductor sector, airline stocks moved higher amid a decrease by the price of oil. In company news, Dell Inc.(DELL),fell 0.5% after the world''s largest personal computer maker said it is increasing the recall of Sony Corp. battery packs used in its computers to 4.2 million units from 4.1 million units. Sony fell 76 cents to $40.40 Jabil Circuit Inc (JBL). rose 0.6% after it said it expects to record a $120.2 million charge related to its restructuring plan. Jabil said in a filing with the SEC that it plans to incur the charge for the period ended Aug. 31.

In the first hour of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 4.16, or 0.04%, to 11,722.61. The Standard & Poor''s 500 index rose 0.50, or 0.04% to 1,339.65, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 0.67, or 0.03%, to 2,270.69. Bonds rose, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury note at 4.60%, down from 4.61% Thursday.


09:00AM Stock futures were off best levels on core inflation data.
Stock market futures rose, but came off their best levels after data showing that core consumer inflation rose to an 11-year high. S&P 500 futures rose 2.30 points to 1,349.60 and Nasdaq 100 futures rose 6.75 points to 1,680.25. Dow industrial futures rose 20 points to 11,789.

In corporate news, shares in Research in Motion (RIMM) surged 18% at $101.95 in pre-open trading after the maker of BlackBerry handheld personal devices exceeded expectations with a Q2 27% profit rise, and after a strong Q3 profit estimate. Hewlett-Packard (HPQ) rose 1% in pre-open after saying it''s extending the tender offer for Mercury Interactive to Oct. 13, from a previous deadline of Sept. 28.

The Timken Co. (TKR) dropped 10% in pre-market trading after disclosing plans for additional restructuring activities and cutting its financial outlook. It said kit is slashing 700 jobs. Tibco Software (TIBX) fell 4.9% to $8.41 after reporting a 19% profit decline, dragged by stock compensation costs.

Core inflation hit an 11-year peak.
Friday morning, the Department of Commerce released its report on personal income and spending in the month of August. The report showed modest increases in both income and spending. The report showed that personal income rose 0.3 percent in August following a 0.5 percent increase in July. Economists had been expecting personal income to increase by about 0.2 percent. The increase in personal income came as private wage and salary disbursements increased $2.5 billion in August, compared with an increase of $30.3 billion in July.

The Commerce Department also said that personal spending edged up by 0.1 percent in August after a more significant 0.8 percent increase in the previous month. The increase in spending came slightly below economist estimates of a 0.2 percent increase. The modest increase in personal spending marks the slowest pace of spending growth since a 0.3 percent decline in September of 2005, when business activity was disrupted by Hurricane Katrina. With the increase in income outpacing the increase in spending, personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income was a negative 0.5 percent in August, compared with a negative 0.7 percent in July.

The report also showed that core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, edged up 0.2 percent in August after a 0.1 percent increase in July. With the increase, prices rose at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in August compared to a 2.3 percent year-over-year increase in July.


8:15AM Research in Motion jumped 19.8% on earnings.
Shares of Research in Motion (RIMM) surged 19.8% to $102.80, in pre-market trading after the maker of the BlackBerry wireless device posted late Thursday better-than-expected Q2 preliminary results and released a strong guidance for the current quarter. The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $51.90 to $90.53 and is higher by 30% from the beginning of 2006.

Research in Motion said it earned $140.8 million, or 74 cents per share, exceeding estimate of 71 cents. Revenue for the period ended Sept. 2 jumped 34% to $658.5 million. The handheld wireless device maker also announced that an internal inquiry helped them come to the conclusion that it may have improperly handled stock option grants to top executives, and will need to restate past earnings results.

Following the news, a couple of brokerage analysts upgraded the company’s stock. A Deutsche Securities analyst upgraded the company to Hold from Sell. ThinkEquity Partners analyst Jonathan Hoopes also lifted his rating to Accumulate from Sell and lifted his target price to $115 from $45.


7:30AM Japanese stocks gain on economic data and U.S. rally.
Asian markets were higher on Friday. Japan''s Nikkei 225 Average finished the day up 0.6% to 16,127.6. Shares of Japanese Internet and telecom conglomerate Softbank Corp. jumped 7.2% after the company unveiled a line of new 3G handsets Thursday. Shares of electronics maker Fujitsu gained 1.7% on news that it would buy manufacturing facilities in Japan from U.S. flash-memory maker Spansion Inc. Mitsubishi UFJ added 1.3% on expectations the continuing economic growth suggested by the morning data would fuel lending.

The Shanghai Composite Index closed up 0.9% at 1,752.4, with bank shares leading gains on expectations the yuan would continue to strengthen. Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong finished up 0.1% after emerging from negative territory in the last minutes of trading. Hang Lung Properties led advancers, adding 3% after having fallen more than 5% in the course of the week.

Australia S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.8%, while South Korea Kospi index ended flat. In Taiwan, shares of Hsinchu International Bank gained 6.9% after the company received a $1.2 billion takeover offer from Standard Chartered Plc. The broader Taiwan market ended flat.


6:30AM European shares advance on auto, hedge funds, and U.S. markets.
European markets were higher by mid morning on Friday. the FTSE 100 in London added 0.5% to 6,000.4, the Xetra Dax was up 0.6% to 6,023.10, and the CAC 40 in Paris gained 0.6% to 5,281.15.