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 weekly jobless claims and manufacturing activity. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 34 points to 11,569.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 5.10 points to 1,212.60. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 3.75 points to 2,237.00. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.61%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.48%, French CAC 40 index fell 1.14% and German DAX 30 index dropped 1.75%. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 1.1792%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.29% and China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.44%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.1792%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Morgan Keegan upgraded Concho Resources Inc CXO from “market perform” to “outperform.” The target price for Concho Resources has been lowered from $115 to $110. Concho Resources shares gained 0.98% to close at $86.95 yesterday. Breaking news

• Liquidity Services, Inc. LQDT today announced it has agreed to acquire the consumer goods remarketing business of Jacobs Trading Company (Jacobs Trading) for $140 million plus potential performance-based consideration. To read the full news, click here.
• China BAK Battery CBAK today announced that the Company's Shenzhen-based subsidiary entered into a strategic cooperation program for electric vehicle development with Hua-chuang Automobile Information Technical Center Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Yulon Group, Taiwan's largest automaker. To read the full news, click here.
• Pier 1 Imports Inc PIR reported a 10.8% rise in its comparable-store sales for the fiscal second-quarter. To read the full news, click here.
• IBM IBM today announced a definitive agreement to acquire Algorithmics for $387 million, subject to price adjustments at closing. To read the full news, click here.