A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are lower this morning, as investors are awaiting several economic reports. Intel Corp INTC posted upbeat quarterly earnings. China again lifted its reserve-requirement ratio for banks. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 53 points to 11,630, while S&P 500 futures declined 5.30 points to 1,276. Nasdaq 100 futures fell 3.50 points to 2,299. A Peek Into Global Markets Negative sentiment ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has dropped 0.88%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 1.16%. Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.86%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.14% and China's Shanghai Composite losing 1.29%. Broker Recommendation Benchmark has published a research report on Savvis, Inc. SVVS and has upgraded the company to Buy from Hold. In the report, Benchmark writes "We increase our rating from Hold to Buy given sustained positive operating momentum, a solid industry outlook and relatively inexpensive valuation. Savvis has lowered churn, accelerated growth and taken a leadership role in cloud computing. Savvis is valued at a discount to peers at 8x 2011E EBITDA compared to 11x. Our price target increases from $27 to $35 per share.During the last year, Savvis' operating results have consistently improved. Churn has stabilized at a reduced level of about 1.5% per quarter. Organic revenue growth accelerated to an estimated 10% y/y in 4Q10 versus -1% in 4Q09, and organic EBITDA growth is about 11% y/y compared to 6% a year ago. EBITDA margin has improved slightly to 25% and should expand during 2011 to 27%. In addition, Savvis has little remaining exposure to large digital content colocation contracts, which are transitioning away from retail data centers, contributing to churn." Benchmark has also raised the price target from $27 to $35 on Savvis Inc., which closed yesterday at $27.95. Breaking news

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. JPM today reported fourth-quarter 2010 net income of $4.8 billion, an increase of 47% compared with $3.3 billion for the fourth quarter of 2009. To read the full news, click here.
• According to a recent report from Reuters, Bookseller Borders Group Inc BGP told publishers in a meeting it was close to securing refinancing from GE Capital and other lenders, the New York Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. To read the full news, click here.
• IBM IBM and Bharti airtel today announced the completion of contract negotiations for technology services spanning 16 African countries. To read the full news, click here.
• General Motors Company GM today confirmed it has completed the previously announced voluntary contribution of 60.6 million shares of GM common stock to its U.S. hourly and salaried pension plans, valued at approximately $2 billion. To read the full news, click here.

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