A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are slightly lower this morning. Greek Parliament is scheduled to vote Wednesday on the EUR28.4 billion, five-year austerity package. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 17 points to 11,973.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index fell 2.60 points to 1,273.70. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 3.75 points to 2,245.25. A Peek Into Global Markets Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.74%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.21% and China's Shanghai Composite surging 0.04%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.09% and India's Sensex jumped 0.39%. European markets were mostly higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.11%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.45%, German DAX 30 index fell 0.19% and France CAC 40 index surged 0.58%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Benchmark Company downgraded SAVVIS Inc SVVS from “buy” to “hold.” The target price for SAVVIS has been lowered from $45 to $40. SAVVIS shares gained 0.13% to close at $39.59 yesterday. Breaking news

• Acacia Research Corporation ACTG announced today that a subsidiary has acquired patents for heart-lung machine technology. To read the full news, click here.
• The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. NDAQ and RTS Stock Exchange have reached a partnership agreement that will facilitate RTS efforts to more quickly realize and maximize profits for their market data content. To read the full news, click here.
• UPS UPS and Merck MRK, today announced that the companies have significantly broadened their existing distribution and logistics agreement to include aspects of Merck's global supply chain around the world. To read the full news, click here.
• Pratt & Whitney, a United Technologies Corp. UTX company, has signed an exclusive maintenance services agreement with Jetstar Pacific Airlines to provide engine overhaul services on the airline's fleet of CFM56-3 engines. To read the full news, click here.