A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting same-store sales from retailers, employment data and an interest-rate decision from the ECB. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 29 points to 12,598.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index rose 3.90 points to 1,339.70. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 6.50 points to 2,381.75. A Peek Into Global Markets Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.1125%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.05% and China's Shanghai Composite dipping 0.58%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.0561% and India's Sensex surged 1.88%. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.34%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.42%, German DAX 30 index rose 0.39% and France CAC 40 index surged 0.41%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Morgan Stanley upgraded Urban Outfitters Inc URBN from “equal-weight” to “overweight.” The target price for Urban Outfitters has been raised to $36. Urban Outfitters shares surged 0.81% to $31.00 in pre-market trading. Breaking news

• Costco Wholesale Corp COST reported a 14% rise in its June sales at stores open at least a year. To read the full news, click here.
• Stage Stores Inc SSI reported a 1.8% rise in its June sales at stores open at least a year. To read the full news, click here.
• Limited Brands Inc LTD reported a 12% jump in its June same-store sales. To read the full news, click here.
• ICF International ICFI has been awarded a new task order under the multiple-award Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity contract by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to support CDC Information Management Services. To read the full news, click here.