U.S. stock index futures dipped on Friday, signaling a fresh round of selloff on Wall Street after hawkish comments from Federal Reserve officials added to doubts about an interest rate cut in December. .N

** Cidara Therapeutics Inc CDTX.O:BUZZ - Shares double after report Merck nears buyout deal nL6N3WQ0IY

** Applied Materials Inc AMAT.O:BUZZ - Down, sees weaker China spending in 2026 on tighter US curbs nL4N3WQ0S7

** Chevron Corp CVX.N:

** Exxon Mobil Corp XOM.N:

** ConocoPhillips COP.N:

** Diamondback Energy Inc FANG.O:BUZZ - X rise after Ukrainian attack damages Russian oil depot nL6N3WQ0JX

** MP Materials Corp MP.N:BUZZ - J.P. Morgan upgrades rare earths company MP Materials to 'overweight' on security importance nL6N3WQ0JA

** Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc SPCE.N:BUZZ - Climbs on narrower Q3 loss nL6N3WQ0JD

** Gap Inc GAP.N:BUZZ - Rises after Jefferies upgrades to 'buy' on strong brand nL6N3WQ0M2

(Compiled by Rajarshi Roy and Varun Sahay in Bengaluru)

((Rajarshi.Roy@thomsonreuters.com))