US STOCK FUTURES: HOT STOCKS TO WATCH

Among the companies whose shares are expected to actively trade in Monday's session are Amylin Pharmaceuticals Inc. (AMLN), Alkermes Inc. (ALKS) and PharMerica Corp. (PMC).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Amylin's diabetes drug Bydureon after a prolonged regulatory process. The drug, which treats type 2 diabetes, was developed by the company along with its partner Alkermes. Shares of Amylin surged 16% to $14.06 after hours, while shares of Alkermes jumped 4.6% to $19.98.

U.S. regulators filed suit Friday to block Omnicare Inc.'s (OCR) bid for rival PharMerica, claiming that combining the two biggest nursing-home pharmacies in the U.S. would hurt competition and raise drug prices. PharMerica shares dropped 9.2% to $12.98, while Omnicare was off 1.4% at $32.60.

 
Watch List: 
 

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services lowered its outlook on Jefferies Group Inc. (JEF) and Cantor Fitzgerald LP to negative from stable and placed its ratings on GFI Group Inc. (GFIG) on watch for a possible downgrade, saying it expects the institutional brokers' operating performance to remain pressured due to prolonged weakness in the financial markets.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) said it is voluntarily recalling 2,200 tubes of Aveeno-brand baby lotion from retailers in the U.S. Southeast after a sample contained too much of a common type of bacteria. The company noted that the recall on the lot of Aveeno Baby Calming Comfort lotion is precautionary and limited to a small amount of product.

Horizon Lines Inc. (HRZL) agreed to pay $1.5 million to resolve federal regulators' allegations of improper oil disposal on one of its Pacific Ocean ships.

Winn-Dixie Stores Inc. (WINN) disclosed its chief financial officer Bennett L. Nussbaum will step down from that role following the company's merger with grocery-store operator BI-LO LLC, but will remain with the company as its integration lead.

-Edited by Maya Pope-Chappell and Ian Thomson; write to [e-mail] and [e-mail]