A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are higher this morning, after Alcoa Inc AA reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 57 points to 11,644 and S&P 500 futures rose 6.80 points to 1,272. Nasdaq 100 futures surged 12.25 points to 2,295. A Peek Into Global Markets Positive sentiment ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has advanced 1.17%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 1.31%. Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.29%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.08% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.44%. Broker Recommendation Jefferies & Co. is raising its price target on shares of ViroPharma Inc. VPHM to $22 from $21, and is keeping its Buy rating on shares. In the research note sent to clients, Jefferies writes, "We are raising our price target from $21 ($15 Cinryze + $2 Vancocin + $4 net cash) to $22 ($16 Cinryze + $2 Vancocin + $4 net cash). Risks include Cinryze supply issues and acute competition." Shares of VPHM lost 10 cents yesterday to close at $17.51. Breaking news

• Lennar Corp LEN reports its Q4 EPS at $0.17, beating the consensus of $0.02. To read the full news, click here.
• West Marine, Inc. WMAR today reported net revenues for its 2010 fiscal fourth quarter ended January 1, 2011 of $107.3 million, an increase of $3.4 million, or 3.3%, from net revenues of $103.9 million a year ago. To read the full news, click here.
• AutoNation, Inc. AN today announced that its retail new vehicle unit sales in December 2010, as reported to the applicable automotive manufacturers, totaled 21,970, an increase of 12% as compared to December 2009. To read the full news, click here.
• Rudolph Technologies, Inc. RTEC announced today that it has received multiple orders for its NSX Inspection System from a major European semiconductor manufacturer. To read the full news, click here.

Read more from Benzinga's Markets.