US Stock Futures Up After Portuguese Government Debt Auction

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting the Federal Reserve's report on present economic conditions. Portuguese government debt sold bonds worth 1.25 billion euros ($1.62 billion) in an auction. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 56 points to 11,672.00 and S&P 500 futures gained 6.90 points to 1,277.30. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 11.75 points to 2,297.25. US stocks closed higher yesterday, with the blue-chip Dow index gaining 34.43 points, or 0.30%. US data on December import prices will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET. However, the Fed is scheduled to release its Beige Book on present economic conditions at 2 p.m. ET. Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner's speech on the future of the economic relationship between US and China is scheduled at Johns Hopkins University, Washington DC today at 8:30 am ET. Shares of Lululemon Athletica LULU surged about 8% in pre-market trading after the company lifted its Q4 profit projections to a range of $0.55 to $0.57 per share, compared with its December projections of $0.46 to $0.48 per share. The company now projects its revenue within $237 million to $239 million, up from $210 million to $215 million. Cliffs Natural Resources Inc CLF announced its plans to purchase Consolidated Thompson Iron Mines Ltd for C$17.25 ($17.42) per share, or $4.9 billion Canadian dollars ($4.95 billion). Analysts at JP Morgan downgraded Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS from “overweight” to “neutral.” Positive sentiment ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has advanced 0.89%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.29%. Mostly Asian markets ended in the positive territory, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.29%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.35% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.61%. Crude-oil futures were trading at $91.05 per barrel in electronic trading on Globex, while gold futures dropped $1.60 to $1,382.70 an ounce. The dollar index (DXY) fell 0.06% to 80.80. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.