U.S. stock index futures were subdued on Thursday, with investors awaiting Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's comments to gauge whether the central bank was leaning more towards inflation control or labor market support. .N

** Delta Air Lines Inc <DAL.N>: BUZZ - Shares rise on Q4 profit forecast nL3N3VQ0QO

** MP Materials Corp <MP.N>: ** NioCorp Developments Ltd <NB.O>: ** Lithium Americas Corp <LAC.N>: ** Critical Metals Corp <CRML.O>: BUZZ - Rare earth miners rise after China tightens export controls nL6N3VQ0FZ

** Freshpet Inc <FRPT.O>: BUZZ - Dips after Jefferies downgrades to 'hold' nL6N3VQ0GW

** Akero Therapeutics Inc <AKRO.O>: BUZZ - Rises after Novo's up to $5.2 billion buyout deal nL3N3VQ0OX

** Oracle Corp <ORCL.N>: BUZZ - Well-positioned for AI boom, says Baird as it initiates coverage nL6N3VQ0HX

** United Airlines Holdings Inc <UAL.O>: ** American Airlines Group Inc <AAL.O>: ** JetBlue Airways Corp <JBLU.O>: ** Southwest Airlines Co <LUV.N>:

BUZZ - US airlines rise on Delta's bullish profit forecast nL3N3VQ0RB

** Novo Nordisk A/S <NVO.N>: BUZZ - Shares fall on 'costly' Akero Therapeutics acquisition nL5N3VQ0RD

** Bluejay Diagnostics Inc <BJDX.O>: BUZZ - Doubles after expanding partnership for sepsis test nL3N3VQ0RO

** Albemarle Corp <ALB.N>: BUZZ - Rises as TD Cowen raises PT, China export controls nL6N3VQ0IZ

** Trex Company Inc <TREX.N>: BUZZ - D.A. Davidson cuts Trex target price, flags soft decking demand nL3N3VQ0S6

(Rajarshi Roy and Anshi Sancheti)

((Anshi.Sancheti@thomsonreuters.com))