HEADLINE STOCKS-Some U.S. stocks to watch on Dec 18

NEW YORK, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Some U.S. stocks to watch on
Thursday:

FEDEX (FDX.N)

Shares of FedEx Corp rose 3 percent to $65.90 in premarket
trade on Thursday after the company posted quarterly results
and announced cost cutting measures, including a hiring freeze,
to mitigate the effect of a slowing economy.

For details, see [ID:nWNAB4188]

INGERSOLL-RAND CO LTD (IR.N)

Shares fell 4 percent in premarket trade to $15.69 after
the company lowered its fourth-quarter and full-year 2008
revenue and earnings estimates.

ORACLE (ORCL.O)

The world's No. 3 software maker is expected to report on
Thursday that new software license sales for the quarter to
Nov. 30 fell 0.38 percent from a year earlier, according to a
Reuters poll. [ID:nN17342576]

Shares closed at $16.74 on Wednesday.

GOLDMAN SACHS (GS.N)

The bank agreed to sell its 29 percent stake in Sanyo
Electric (6764.T) after Panasonic Corp (6752.T) slightly
sweetened its offer, three financial sources said, clearing the
way for a deal worth at least $6.4 billion. [ID:nT242792]

Goldman stock closed at $78.78 on Wednesday.

WALT DISNEY CO (DIS.N)

The company has been sued by its main film financing
partner Kingdom Films LLC and accused of violating a
profit-sharing agreement, the Los Angeles Times reported on
Thursday. [ID:nBNG336133]

Disney stock closed at $23.58 on Wednesday.

GENERAL MOTORS CORP (GM.N)

GM and Chrysler LLC have reopened merger talks at Chrysler
owner as Chrysler owner Cerberus Capital Management LP [CBS.UL]
has signaled willingness to cede part of its stake in the
automaker, the Wall Street Journal reported. [ID:nBNG140138]

GM stock was trading flat at $4.37 in premarket trade.

CITIGROUP INC (C.N)

Veteran banking analyst Richard Bove of Ladenburg Thalmann
widened his fourth-quarter loss estimate for the bank, saying
it may take sizable writedowns in its capital-markets
operations. [ID:nBNG270382]

Shares closed at $7.83 on Wednesday.

LENNAR CORPORATION (LEN.N).

The No. 2 U.S. homebuilder said on Thursday its quarterly
net loss narrowed as it cut land expenditures and tried to
clear its backlog of unsold homes in an effort to deal with
brutal conditions in the residential real estate market.
[ID:nN18371113]

The stock closed at $10.25 a day earlier.

AUXILIUM PHARMACEUTICALS (AUXL.O)

Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) said it will pay $75 million upfront and
up to another $410 million for the rights to develop and market
Auxilium Pharmaceuticals (AUXL.O) experimental drug Xiaflex,
both companies said in a statement on Wednesday.

Auxilium shares went up $3 in after hours trade after
closing at $22.89 Wednesday on Nasdaq.

FORMFACTOR INC (FORM.O)

The maker of wafer probe cards for the semiconductor
industry said fourth-quarter results would be below its
previous outlook due to increased weakness in the memory
market, sending its shares down 7 percent.

Shares closed at $15.11 Wednesday on Nasdaq.

ATHEROS COMMUNICATIONS INC (ATHR.O)

Wireless chipmaker Atheros Communications Inc (ATHR.O)
slashed its fourth-quarter outlook, citing weak consumer demand
amid a deteriorating economic environment, sending its shares
down 9 percent.

Shares of the company closed at $16.00 Wednesday on
Nasdaq.

STONE ENERGY CORP (SGY.N)

Independent oil & gas company Stone Energy cut its
production outlook for the fourth quarter and set a capital
budget of $300 million for 2009, sending shares down more than
8 percent.

The company's shares closed at $11.97 Wednesday on the New
York Stock Exchange.
(Reporting by Deepa Seetharaman; Editing by James Dalgleish)