A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are slightly lower this morning, as investors are awaiting key gross domestic product data and earnings reports from several companies. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 6 points to 12,635.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 1.20 points to 1,349.80. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 fell 4 points to 2,405.00. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were mixed today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.04%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.18%. Most Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 1.63%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.04% and China's Shanghai Composite dropping 1.30%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.37% and India's Sensex lost 0.84%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Citigroup upgraded Guess? Inc GES from “hold” to “buy.” The target price for GES has been raised from $46 to $50. GES shares gained 1.26% to close at $41.78 yesterday. Breaking news

• PepsiCo Inc PEP reported a 20% decline in its Q1 net income. The company reported its Q1 net income at $1.14 billion, or $0.71 per share, down from $1.43 billion, or $0.89 per share, in the year-earlier period. To read the full news, click here.
• AMETEK, Inc. AME today announced that it has acquired Avicenna Technology, Inc., a privately held supplier of custom, fine-featured components used in the medical device industry. To read the full news, click here.
• Aetna Inc AET on Thursday released its results for the first quarter. AET reported its Q1 profit at $586 million, or $1.50 per share, up from $562.6 million, or $1.28 per share, in the year-ago period. To read the full news, click here.
• NYSE Euronext NYX reported net income of $155 million on Thursday, or $0.59 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2011, compared to net income of $130 million, or $0.50 per diluted share for the first quarter of 2010. To read the full news, click here.

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