A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers
US stock futures are higher this morning, as crude-oil prices declined marginally from 29-month highs. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 30 points to 12,108.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index gained 4.60 points to 1,313.70. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 4.25 points to 2,328.75.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.20%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.15%.

Asian markets ended in the positive territory, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.19%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.13% and China's Shanghai Composite rising 0.13%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.71% and India's Sensex surged 1.19%.

Broker Recommendation
Analysts at Oppenheimer downgraded Bed Bath & Beyond Inc BBBY from “outperform” to “perform.” The target price for BBBY has been lowered from $54 to $51.

BBBY shares lost 1.70% to close at $47.52 yesterday.

Breaking news

• Stage Stores SSI reported its Q4 EPS at $0.86, versus the consensus of $0.85. To read the full news, click here.



• RadNet Inc RDNT reported its Q4 EPS at $0.08, versus the consensus of $0.04. To read the full news, click here.



• US Ecology ECOL reported its Q4 diluted EPS at $0.25, versus the consensus of $0.12. To read the full news, click here.



• Double Eagle Petroleum Co DBLE reported its 2010 non-GAAP EPS at $1.76, compared with $2.63 in 2009. To read the full news, click here.

Read more from Benzinga's Markets.