A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are higher this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 18 points to 15,373.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 2.50 points to 1,668.10. Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 4.75 points to 3,026.25. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.54%, London's FTSE 100 index dropped 0.19%, French CAC 40 Index declined 0.45% and German DAX 30 index fell 0.23%. Asian markets ended mostly lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average jumping 1.60%, China's Shanghai Composite falling 0.12% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index dropping 0.27%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.45% and India's Sensex dropped 0.25%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Societe Generale downgraded EQT EQT from “buy” to “hold.” The target price for EQT is set to $85. EQT shares closed at $81.00 yesterday. Breaking news

• Staples SPLS reported weak earnings for the first quarter and kept its 2013 forecast unchanged. To read the full news, click here.
• BNY Mellon BK, the global leader in investment management and investment services, is rolling out a major two-year recruiting campaign to increase BNY Mellon Wealth Management's sales force by 50 percent. To read the full news, click here.
• Ford F will add an additional 200,000 units of annual straight-time capacity this year after increasing annual straight-time capacity by 400,000 units in the region last year. To read the full news, click here.
• Lowe's Companies LOW reported a 2.5% rise in its Q1 net earnings. To read the full news, click here.