A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting trade and jobless claims data. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 27 points to 12,057.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index rose 3.60 points to 1,280.60. Nasdaq 100 futures surged 4.75 points to 2,252.75. A Peek Into Global Markets Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.19%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.28% and China's Shanghai Composite declining 1.68%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.23% and India's Sensex declined 0.06%. European markets were mixed today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index has dropped 0.04%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.02%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Jefferies & Company upgraded Sealed Air Corporation SEE from “hold” to “buy.” The target price for Sealed Air has been raised from $25 to $29. Sealed Air shares rose 1.82% to $23.48 in pre-market trading. Breaking news

• Citigroup C is acknowledging that its customers were subject to a security breach that may have compromised their accounts, an unwelcome blow to the recovering bank. To read the full news, click here.
• Visa Inc V announced its plans to acquire South Africa's Fundamo, a leading platform provider of mobile financial services, for around $110 million in cash. It also signed a long-term agreement with Monitise plc MONIF. To read the full news, click here.
• Vertex Pharmaceuticals Incorporated VRTX today announced interim results from the first part of a Phase 2 study designed to evaluate multiple combination regimens of VX-770 and VX-809, Vertex's lead medicines in development that aim to treat the defective protein that causes cystic fibrosis. To read the full news, click here.
• J.M. Smucker Co SJM reported better-than-expected fourth-quarter results on Thursday. To read the full news, click here.

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