A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers
US stock futures are higher this morning, as finance ministers and central bankers from the G-7 nations decided to intervene in currency markets to support Japan in curbing the Japanese currency's rise after strong earthquake and tsunami. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 85 points to 11,796.00, while those for the S&P 500 stock index climbed 9.30 points to 1,278.10. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index surged 16 points to 2,242.00.

A Peek Into Global Markets

Positive sentiment ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.26%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.43%.

Most Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 2.72%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rising 1.67% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.33%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rose 0.07% and India's Sensex dropped 271.06 points. People's Bank of China lifted banks' reserve requirement ratio 0.5%.

Broker Recommendation
Analysts at Morgan Stanley downgraded Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc AUXL from “overweight” to “equal weight.” The target price for AUXL has been lowered from $34 to $26.

AUXL shares gained 1.41% to close at $23.00 yesterday.

Breaking news

• Celera Corporation CRA today reported net revenues of $34.9 million for the fourth quarter of 2010 that ended December 25, 2010, compared to $39.2 million for the prior year quarter. To read the full news, click here.



• Perry Ellis International, Inc. PERY today reported results for the fourth quarter. As reported under GAAP, fourth quarter fully diluted EPS was $0.54 compared to $0.64 in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010. To read the full news, click here.



• Quest Diagnostics Incorporated DGX, the world's leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services, and Celera Corporation CRA, one of the world's pioneers in genetic diagnostics discovery and development, announced today that they have entered into a definitive merger agreement under which Quest Diagnostics will acquire Celera for $8 per share. To read the full news, click here.



• The Corporate Executive Board EXBD today announced that it has entered into a five-year, $100 million senior unsecured revolving credit facility with a syndicate of banks led by Bank of America and JP Morgan Chase. To read the full news, click here.

Read more from Benzinga's Markets.