A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers
US stock futures are lower this morning following a 10.55% drop in Japanese Nikkei Average on reports that radiation was leaking from a Fukushima Daiichi nuclear-power plant. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average tumbled 215 points to 11,711.00 and futures on the S&P 500 index dipped 27.70 points to 1,262.80. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 50.75 points to 2,238.75.

A Peek Into Global Markets

Negative sentiment ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has dropped 2.73%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 1.95%.

Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average tumbling 10.55%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropping 2.13% and China's Shanghai Composite falling 1.41%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 2.86% and India's Sensex dropped 1.49%.

Broker Recommendation
Analysts at Goldman upgraded Netflix Inc NFLX from “neutral” to “buy.” The target price for NFLX has been raised from $210 to $300.

NFLX shares fell 1.63% to close at $201.20 yesterday.

Breaking news

• WESCO International, Inc. WCC today announced that it has acquired the business of RECO, LLC, headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio. To read the full news, click here.



• Brown Shoe Company, Inc. BWS today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended January 29, 2011. To read the full news, click here.



• Rainmaker Systems, Inc. RMKR today announced it has signed a three-year agreement for customer education sales with a new client, Infoblox, Inc. To read the full news, click here.



• Williams-Sonoma, Inc. WSM today announced operating results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended January 30, 2011 and financial guidance for fiscal year 2011. To read the full news, click here.

Read more from Benzinga's Markets.