US Stock Futures Up Ahead Of Producer Price Data, FOMC Minutes; Dell Reports Upbeat Earnings

US stock futures are higher this morning, as Sanofi-Aventis SA SNY agreed to purchase Genzyme Corp GENZ. Dell Inc DELL reported upbeat quarterly earnings. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 30 points to 12,232.00 and S&P 500 futures rose 4.20 points to 1,330.50. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 5.50 points to 2,387.00. US stocks closed lower, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 0.34% to close at 12,227 yesterday. January's producer price index is due at 8:30 a.m. ET. The minutes from the latest meeting of the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will be released at 2 p.m. ET. Sanofi-Aventis SA has agreed to purchase GENZ for around $20.1 billion in cash. SNY will pay $74 per share in cash plus a contingent value right (CVR) for Genzyme. Shares of Genzyme gained about 0.94% in pre-market trading, while Sanofi shares rose 3.2% on the Paris market. Shares of Dell Inc surged about 7% in pre-market trading after the company reported its FQ4 profit at $927 million, or $0.48 per share, up from $334 million, or $0.17 per share, in the year-ago period. The company's revenue increased to $15.69 billion from $14.9 billion. The company's adjusted income came in at $0.53 per share. However, analysts were expecting earnings of $0.36 per share on revenue of $15.75 billion. Dell projected revenue growth of 5% to 9% for its full fiscal year. However, analysts were expecting revenue growth of 5% for the same period. According to a regulatory filing late Tuesday, Trian Fund Management's head Nelson Peltz offered $55 to $60 per share in cash to acquire Family Dollar Stores Inc FDO. Comcast CMCSA is expected to post its Q4 EPS at $0.32 on revenue of $9.58 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch Co ANF is projected to report its Q4 EPS at $1.32 on revenue of $1.14 billion. CBS Corp CBS is expected to report its Q4 earnings at $0.44 per share on revenue of $3.84 billion. Nvidia Corp NVDA is estimated to report its earnings at $0.21 per share on revenue of $894.42 million in the fourth quarter. Positive sentiment ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.11%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.51%. Most Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.57% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.02% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.85%. The dollar index (DXY) fell 0.30% to 78.34, compared with 78.592 in late North American trading Tuesday. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.