A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting economic data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 94 points to 12,038.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 10.50 points to 1,240.70. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 18 points to 2,299.50. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 1.15%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.77%, French CAC 40 index rose 1.92% and German DAX 30 index gained 1.76%. Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 1.4266%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 1.72% and China's Shanghai Composite declining 0.62%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 2.7297% and India's Sensex dipped 1.67%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded Pepco Holdings Inc POM from “neutral” to “outperform.” The target price for Pepco Holdings has been raised from $18.50 to $23. Pepco Holdings shares dropped 2.11% to close at $19.02 yesterday. Breaking news

• Panasonic PC announced today that it will expand its smartphone business to the European market in March 2012. To read the full news, click here.
• Lattice Semiconductor Corp LSCC lowered its fourth-quarter revenue forecast and announced its plans to buy SiliconBlue Technologies for $62 million in cash. To read the full news, click here.
• Blue Coat Systems Inc BCSI agreed to sell itself to private equity investment firm Thoma Bravo and others for around $1.3 billion. To read the full news, click here.
• Aircastle Limited AYR announced today that it plans to offer an additional $150 million aggregate principal amount of its Senior Notes due 2018 (the "notes") under its Indenture dated July 30, 2010. To read the full news, click here.