A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are higher this morning, after upbeat earnings from Dell Inc DELL. Investors are awaiting the minutes from the meeting of the US Federal Reserve. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 26 points to 12,463.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index rose 3.10 points to 1,328.50. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 3.25 points to 2,340.50. A Peek Into Global Markets Most Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.99%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.26% and China's Shanghai Composite rising 0.70%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.48% and India's Sensex dipped 0.28%. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.21%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.79%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at JP Morgan downgraded Hewlett-Packard Company HPQ from “overweight” to “neutral.” The target price for HPQ has been lowered from $55 to $42. HPQ shares dropped 7.26% to close at $36.91 yesterday. Breaking news

• Staples Inc SPLS reported downbeat first-quarter results and lowered its profit projections for the year. To read the full news, click here.
• Iconix Brand Group, Inc. ICON announced today the pricing of its private offering of $275 million aggregate principal amount of 2.50% Convertible Senior Subordinated Notes due 2016 to be sold to qualified institutional buyers in reliance on Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. To read the full news, click here.
• Deere & Co DE reported upbeat earnings for its fiscal second-quarter. The company reported its quarterly net income at $904.3 million, or $2.12 per share, versus $547.5 million, or $1.28 per share, in the year-earlier period. To read the full news, click here.
• BJ's Wholesale Club Inc BJ released its results for the first-quarter on Wednesday. The company reported its Q1 profit at $33.67 million, or $0.62 per share, versus $26.1 million, or $0.49 per share, in the year-earlier period. To read the full news, click here.

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