A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are higher this morning, ahead of economic data and minutes from the recent meeting of the Federal Reserve's monetary-policy committee. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 40 points to 11,565.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 6.60 points to 1,197.30. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 1.25 points to 2,214.75. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.47%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.74%, French CAC 40 index rose 0.82% and German DAX 30 index gained 0.81%. Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.4016%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.69% and China's Shanghai Composite declining 0.10%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.1412% and India's Sensex gained 0.75%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at JP Morgan downgraded Pharmasset Inc VRUS from “overweight” to “neutral.” The target price for Pharmasset has been raised from $100 to $137. Pharmasset shares dropped 0.09% to $134.02 in after-hours trading. Breaking news

• R. R. Donnelley & Sons Company RRD today announced that it has acquired West Chester, OH based StratusGroup, Inc., a full service manufacturer of custom pressure sensitive label and paperboard packaging products for health and beauty, food, beverage and other segments. To read the full news, click here.
• Hormel Foods Corp HRL reported a decline in its Q4 net earnings. To read the full news, click here.
• Lexicon Pharmaceuticals Inc LXRX announced today that it has commenced its previously announced rights offering pursuant to an effective registration statement and today began mailing a prospectus and other rights offering materials to its stockholders. To read the full news, click here.
• Shanda Interactive Entertainment Limited SNDA announced today that it has entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger with Premium Lead Company Limited and New Era Investment Holding Ltd. pursuant to which Parent will acquire Shanda for US$20.675 per ordinary share or US$41.35 per American Depositary Share, each representing two ordinary shares. To read the full news, click here.