US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Economic Data

Pre-open movers US stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on weekly jobless claims will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Chicago PMI for December will be released at 9:45 a.m. ET. The pending home sales index for November will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 11 points to 17,952.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 2.90 points to 2,079.60. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 4.25 points to 4,287.00. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were mixed today, with the Spanish Ibex Index falling 0.05%, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.33%. French CAC 40 Index rose 0.63% and London's FTSE 100 Index fell 0.23%. In Asian markets, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.44%, China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped 2.18% and India's Sensex jumped 0.57%. The final reading of the HSBC Manufacturing PMI declined to 49.6 in December, versus 50 in November. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Compass Point downgraded Meadowbrook Insurance MIG from Buy to Neutral. The price target for Meadowbrook Insurance has been raised from $7 to $8.65. Meadowbrook Insurance's shares closed at $7.13 yesterday. Breaking news

• Walgreen Co. and Alliance Boots GmbH today completed Step 2 of their strategic partnership to form Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. WBA, finalizing the two-step merger launched in 2012 to create the world's first global pharmacy-led, health and wellbeing enterprise. To read the full news, click here.
• United Therapeutics Corporation UTHR announced today the signing of an agreement with DEKA Research & Development Corp. for the development of a potential technology breakthrough in the subcutaneous delivery of Remodulin® (treprostinil) Injection to patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) via a pre-filled semi-disposable pump system. To read the full news, click here.
• Renren Inc. RENN today announced that effective close of business on December 31, 2014, Ms. Hui Huang will resign as the Chief Financial Officer of Renren Inc., a position she has held since March 2010. To read the full news, click here.
• NephroGenex, Inc. NRX announced the Company has successfully completed a thorough QT/QTc (TQT) cardiac safety study on Pyridorin. To read the full news, click here.