A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting Federal Reserve Chairman's news conference. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 40 points to 12,558.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 4.90 points to 1,345.80. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 surged 15.50 points to 2,400.25. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.53%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.17%. Most Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 1.39%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.84% and China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.44%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.48% and India's Sensex lost 0.49%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Goldman Sachs downgraded U.S. Steel Group X from “buy” to “neutral.” The price target for U.S. Steel has been lowered from $74 to $56. U.S. Steel shares fell 0.64% to $49.40 in pre-market trading. Breaking news

• Baker Hughes Inc BHI reported its Q1 results on Wednesday. BHI reported its Q1 net profit at $381 million, up from $129 million, in the year-earlier period. To read the full news, click here.
• CenturyLink CTL and Savvis, Inc. SVVS today announced that their boards of directors have approved a definitive agreement under which CenturyLink will acquire all outstanding shares of Savvis common stock in a cash and stock merger valued at $40 per share, or a total of approximately $2.5 billion, plus net debt of approximately $0.7 billion which will be assumed or refinanced at close. To read the full news, click here.
• Vical Incorporated VICL announced today that more than half of the subjects in the Phase 1 trial of the company's Vaxfectin(R)-formulated vaccine for H1N1 pandemic influenza generated neutralizing antibodies of the type expected to provide protection against the disease. To read the full news, click here.
• General Dynamics GD today reported first-quarter 2011 earnings from continuing operations of $618 million, or $1.64 per share on a fully diluted basis, compared with 2010 first-quarter earnings from continuing operations of $599 million, or $1.54 per share fully diluted. To read the full news, click here.

Read more from Benzinga's Markets.