US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of Fed Minutes

Pre-open movers US stock futures traded slightly higher in early pre-market trade. Data on housing starts for October will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the Federal Open Market Committee will issue minutes of its latest meeting at 2:00 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 14 points to 17,470.0, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 1.50 points to 2,050.50. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 3 points to 4,572.50. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were lower today, with the Spanish Ibex Index dropping 0.86 percent, STOXX Europe 600 Index declining 0.43 percent and German DAX 30 index dropping 0.59 percent. French CAC 40 Index slipped 0.83 percent and London's FTSE 100 Index fell 0.27 percent. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock rose 0.09 percent, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.34 percent, China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 1.01 percent and India's BSE Sensex dipped 1.48 percent. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Mizuho Securities downgraded Citrix Systems, Inc. CTXS from Buy to Neutral and lowered the price target from $90.00 to $80.00. Citrix Systems shares fell 3.09 percent to $76.00 in pre-market trading. Breaking news

• Lowe's Companies, Inc. LOW reported stronger-than-expected results for the third quarter. To read the full news, click here.
• ON Semiconductor Corp ON and Fairchild Semiconductor Intl Inc FCS today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement for ON Semiconductor to acquire Fairchild for $20.00 per share in an all cash transaction valued at approximately $2.4 billion. To read the full news, click here.
• Shares of Staples, Inc. SPLS dropped over 3 percent in pre-market trading after the company reported downbeat revenue for the third quarter on Wednesday. However, the company reported in-line quarterly earnings.To read the full news, click here.
• VimpelCom Ltd (ADR) VIP today announced that its 51.9 percent owned subsidiary, Global Telecom Holding S.A.E., has entered into an agreement with ZARNet Limited to sell its stake in Telecel International Limited for $40 million. To read the full news, click here.