US STOCKS-Futures edge up; durable goods, housing data on tap

* Durable goods, new home sales on tap

* Currency market in focus on talk of Japanese intervention

* Indexes up: S&P 4.6 pts, Dow 38 pts, Nasdaq 10.75 pts

* For up-to-the-minute market news see [STXNEWS/US]

NEW YORK, Sept 24 (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged higher on Friday, rebounding after the S&P 500 fell below a key technical level at 1,130, as investors awaited a batch of economic data for further clues on the state of the economy.

* Investors are keen to see if today's data will confirm the latest trend of modest improvement in the economy seen in many recent economic indicators.

* U.S. durable goods figures for August are due at 8:30 a.m. [1230 GMT], while new home sales data for the same month are scheduled for release at 10:00 a.m. [1400 GMT]. A Reuters survey of analysts expect durable orders to be down 1 percent after a 0.4 percent increase for the prior month. For housing data, analysts expect sales of 290,000 units at an annual rate, up from 276,000 the month before.

* Investors will closely watch developments in the currency markets after the dollar rose sharply against the yen on talk that Japanese authorities were buying dollars for yen in their second round of intervention this month. There was no immediate confirmation from the authorities. For details, see [ID:nTOE68N03S]

* S&P 500 futures rose 4.6 points and were 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 rose 38 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures gained 10.75 points.

* The S&P 500's <.SPX> break below a key technical level at 1,130 marked the high end of the summer's trading range.

* In company news, a senior Credit Suisse commodity executive and a team of traders have left the bank to set up a hedge fund backed by Blackstone Group, the latest shake-up resulting from tough U.S. financial reform. [ID:nN23171750]

* The second-largest shareholder in Dutch biotechnology firm Crucell , which has criticized Johnson & Johnson's $2.3 billion offer for the company as meager, has increased its stake since the bid. [ID:nLDE68N0A9]

* U.S. customer management and billing firm CSG Systems agreed to buy British rival Intec Telecom Systems for $370.9 million to create a global presence in business support systems. [ID:nLDE6350JF]

* The U.S. Senate will not vote on renewing Bush-era tax cuts before the Nov. 2 elections, a spokesman for the majority leader said on Thursday, as Democrats face internal divisions and potential Republican obstacles. [ID:nN23150778]

* After the closing bell on Thursday AMD updated its third-quarter outlook. [ID:nWNAB8880]

* Nike Inc also reported stronger-than-expected orders and profit in extended trading. [ID:nN23213576]

* U.S. gold futures surged to an all-time high at $1,300 an ounce in European trading hours on Friday as investors turned to the precious metal as a refuge from volatility on the currency markets.

* Trading volume continued to be low, about 20 percent less than the daily average last year, validating worries of those who thought the recent rally was flimsy.

(Reporting by Angela Moon, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)