A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting data on consumer spending. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 26 points to 11,907.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index rose 4.20 points to 1,267.20. Nasdaq 100 futures jumped 7.75 points to 2,215.50. A Peek Into Global Markets Most Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dipping 1.0373%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 1.12% and China's Shanghai Composite surging 0.44%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.5874% and India's Sensex jumped 1.03%. European markets were mostly higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.09%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.20%, German DAX 30 index fell 0.10% and France CAC 40 index surged 0.25%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded ConAgra Foods Inc CAG from “neutral” to “buy.” The target price for ConAgra has been raised from $28 to $31. ConAgra shares dropped 0.67% to close at $25.20 yesterday. Breaking news

• Columbia Laboratories, Inc. CBRX and Watson Pharmaceuticals, Inc. WPI today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted for filing Columbia's New Drug Application for PROCHIEVE (progesterone gel) for the reduction of risk of preterm birth in women with short uterine cervical length in the mid-trimester of pregnancy. To read the full news, click here.
• Metropolitan Health Networks MDF and Continucare Corporation CNU announced jointly today that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement whereby Metropolitan will acquire Continucare in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $416 million at the time of announcement. To read the full news, click here.
• Garmin Ltd. GRMN announced that the U.S. International Trade Commission issued a final determination on June 24 finding no violation of Section 337 of the Tariff Act with respect to Garmin's imported navigation products. To read the full news, click here.
• S1 Corp SONE agreed to acquire Fundtech Ltd FNDT in a stock deal valued at $20.51 per share or about $700 million. To read the full news, click here.