US Stock Futures Up; Jobless Claims Data In Focus

Pre-open movers US stock futures gained in early pre-market trade, ahead of jobless claims data. Data on weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 45 points to 16,348.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures gained 2.70 points to 1,831.80. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 5.50 points to 3,575.25. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.58%, London's FTSE 100 index gaining 0.23% and STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 0.26%. German DAX 30 index climbed 0.94% and French CAC 40 Index gained 0.07%. French consumer spending rose 1.4% in November. Asian markets ended mostly higher today. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.03%, China's Shanghai Composite tumbled 1.58% and India's BSE Sensex rose 0.2%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Raymond James downgraded Eagle Rock Energy Partners LP EROC from “underperform” to “market perform.” Eagle Rock Energy's shares closed at $6.35 on Tuesday. Breaking news

• Hi-Tech Pharmacal HITK today announced that the Texas Attorney General has agreed to close its investigation of Hi-Tech's pricing of products that were purchased with Texas Medicaid dollars. To read the full news, click here.
• Capital Senior Living CSU today announced that it has completed the acquisition of four senior living communities in two transactions for a combined purchase price of approximately $64.9 million. To read the full news, click here.
• Goodrich Petroleum GDP today announced that its Huff 18-7H-1 (97% WI) well in Amite County, Mississippi was successfully fracture stimulated with 17 stages and had commenced flowback at expected fluid rates when the well became plugged up with frac-related debris at a frac plug approximately 500 feet into the lateral, which will need to be cleaned out prior to resuming flowback. To read the full news, click here.
• DS Healthcare Group DSKX announced that it entered and consummated a securities purchase agreement with an accredited investor for the sale of 1,512,500 shares of the Company's common stock, with gross proceeds of $2,420,0000. To read the full news, click here.