A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are higher this morning. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 75 points to 11,974.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index rose 9.10 points to 1,272.60. Nasdaq 100 futures surged 13.25 points to 2,208.75. A Peek Into Global Markets Most Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dipping 0.6363%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.10% and China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.77%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 1.1746% and India's Sensex dipped 0.71%. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.16%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.12%, German DAX 30 index rose 0.75% and France CAC 40 index surged 0.91%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at JP Morgan downgraded Research in Motion Ltd RIMM from “overweight” to “neutral.” The target price for RIMM has been lowered from $40.50 to $30. RIMM shares dropped 16.47% to $29.51 in pre-market trading. Breaking news

• Amdocs Ltd DOX agreed to acquire Bridgewater Systems Corp for C$8.20 per share in cash, or about C$211 million ($214 million) in total. To read the full news, click here.
• The SEC is considering civil fraud charges against some credit-rating companies for participating in the development of bad mortgage-bond deals, the Wall Street Journal is reporting Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. To read the full news, click here.
• In the latest competitive twist in Silicon Valley, Oracle Corporation ORCL is seeking damages in the "billions of dollars" in its lawsuit against Google GOOG over a smartphone patent. To read the full news, click here.
• VIVUS, Inc. VVUS today announced that the positive results from REVIVE-RP (TA-303), a phase 3 clinical trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of the investigational drug avanafil for the treatment of erectile dysfunction,will be presented this afternoon at the 2011 Cancer Survivorship and Sexual Health Symposium in Washington D.C. To read the full news, click here.

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