New York - US stock index futures were little changed on Friday, after Wall St began the new year with a decline and investors grappled with a snowstorm that blasted the northeastern United States.
* US stocks fell on their first day of trading in 2014 as investors booked profits in the wake of the S&P 500's best yearly advance since 1997, with many of last year's strongest performers down on the day.
* Market volume, already expected to be on the light side as many market participants remain out of the office due to the New Year's holiday-interrupted week, will likely be anaemic after a snowstorm caused more than 1,000 US flight delays and cancellations, paralysed road travel, and closed schools and government offices.
* S&P 500 futures rose 1 point and were slightly above fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract.
Dow Jones industrial average futures gained 11 points and Nasdaq 100 futures added 0.75 point.
* Cybersecurity company FireEye Inc has acquired Mandiant Corp, the computer forensics specialist best known for unveiling a secretive Chinese military unit believed to be behind a series of hacking attacks on US companies.
FireEye shares jumped 23.8 percent to $50.90 in premarket trade.
* Micron Technology Inc lost 1.7 percent to $21.30 before the opening bell after RBC lowered its rating on the stock to a “sector perform” from “outperform.”
* Investors will monitor automakers on Friday as they report their vehicle sales for December.
* European stocks edged higher, bolstered by a rally in retailers, but the major indexes remained below recent 5-1/2 year highs as investors locked in profits on a forecast-beating 2013.
* Asian share markets were under water after a sudden reversal in some very popular, and thus crowded, trades sparked a bout of global risk aversion. - Reuters