A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting home-sales data. The Greek parliament is scheduled to vote on the austerity measures. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 55 points to 12,196.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index rose 7.20 points to 1,301.70. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 12.25 points to 2,296.25. A Peek Into Global Markets Most Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 1.4727%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 1.25% and China's Shanghai Composite dropping 1.11%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.0027% and India's Sensex jumped 1.09%. European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 1.62%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 1.44%, German DAX 30 index rose 1.84% and France CAC 40 index surged 1.94%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Jefferies & Company downgraded Greenbrier Companies GBX from “buy” to “hold.” The target price for Greenbrier has been lowered from $32 to $22. Greenbrier shares fell 0.20% to close at $20.35 yesterday. Breaking news

• Bank of America Corporation BAC today announced that it has reached an agreement to resolve nearly all of the legacy Countrywide-issued first-lien residential mortgage-backed securitization repurchase exposure, representing 530 trusts with original principal balance of $424 billion. To read the full news, click here.
• BJ's Wholesale Club BJ today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by affiliates of Leonard Green & Partners, L.P. and funds advised by CVC Capital Partners in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $2.8 billion. To read the full news, click here.
• ICF International ICFI has been awarded a new task order contract to support the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability. To read the full news, click here.
• General Mills Inc GIS reported a 51% surge in fiscal fourth-quarter net income on Wednesday. To read the full news, click here.