A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are lower this morning, as investors are awaiting data on demand for durable goods. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 99 points to 11,042.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 10.60 points to 1,148.00. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 18.50 points to 2,105.50. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were mostly higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.25%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.15%, French CAC 40 index rose 0.56% and German DAX 30 index gained 0.90%. Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 1.0151%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.10% and China's Shanghai Composite declining 0.51%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 2.0565% and India's Sensex dipped 1.47%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Morgan Keegan downgraded Abbott Laboratories ABT from “outperform” to “market perform.” The target price for Abbott Laboratories has been lowered from $60 to $57. Abbott Laboratories shares gained 2.29% to close at $50.51 yesterday. Breaking news

• Toll Brothers Inc TOL reported a higher Q3 profit, but narrowed its home delivery outlook for the year. To read the full news, click here.
• In support of the company's strategy to grow its business to a leadership position in China, Caterpillar Inc CAT announced today an expansion of the company's operations in China. To read the full news, click here.
• Sprint Nextel S will begin selling its own version of Apple's AAPL popular iPhone by mid-October, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing unnamed sources. To read the full news, click here.
• Christopher A. Holden, President and Chief Executive Officer of AmSurg Corp. AMSG, today announced that AmSurg and National Surgical Care have signed a revised definitive agreement under which AmSurg will purchase substantially all of NSC's assets for $135 million in cash. To read the full news, click here.