A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are slightly higher this morning, as investors are awaiting jobless claims and Chicago PMI data. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 16 points to 12,234.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index rose 1 point to 1,305.30. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 3.25 points to 2,297.25. A Peek Into Global Markets Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.1922%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 1.75% and China's Shanghai Composite surging 1.23%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.5272% and India's Sensex jumped 0.63%. European markets were mostly higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.02%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.41%, German DAX 30 index fell 0.11% and France CAC 40 index surged 0.12%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Ticonderoga downgraded KB Home KBH from “buy” to “neutral.” KB Home shares fell 0.10% to $10.07 in after-hours trading. Breaking news

• Social network website MySpace closed another chapter in its tumultuous history Wednesday, as advertising company Specific Media bought the company from News Corporation NWSA for $35 million. To read the full news, click here.
• VIVUS, Inc. VVUS today announced that a New Drug Application (NDA) has been submitted to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seeking approval of avanafil, its investigational drug for the treatment of erectile dysfunction (ED). To read the full news, click here.
• ANSYS ANSS announced today that they signed a definitive agreement whereby ANSYS will acquire Apache for a purchase price of approximately $310 million in cash, which includes an estimated $29 million in cash on Apache's balance sheet. To read the full news, click here.
• McCormick & Company Inc MKC released its second-quarter results on Thursday. McCormick reported its quarterly profit at $73.6 million, or $0.55 per share, up from $66.2 million, or $0.49 per share, in the year-earlier period. To read the full news, click here.