A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are slightly lower this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 17 points to 13,279.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 2.70 points to 1,435.50. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 5 points to 2,818.00. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were mixed today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.21%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.02%, French CAC 40 Index fell 0.19% and German DAX 30 index gained 0.04%. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.03%, China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.34% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.21%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 0.13% and India's Sensex rose 0.10%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Jefferies & Company upgraded PPG Industries PPG from “hold” to “buy.” The target price for PPG Industries has been raised from $117 to $135. PPG Industries shares gained 0.12% to close at $113.14 on Friday. Breaking news

• Transocean Ltd RIG announced today that the company has reached definitive agreements to sell 38 shallow water drilling rigs to Shelf Drilling International Holdings Ltd for approximately $1.05 billion. To read the full news, click here.
• On Assignment ASGN today announced the public offering of 4,781,857 shares of its common stock by certain selling stockholders. To read the full news, click here.
• Cleveland BioLabs CBLI today announced the receipt of an Advice Letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) indicating agreement with proposed pivotal animal efficacy studies for the development of CBLB502 (Entolimod™) as a radiation countermeasure. To read the full news, click here.
• Hertz Global Holdings HTZ today commenced a cash tender offer to purchase all outstanding shares of common stock of Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group DTG. To read the full news, click here.