A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting housing data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 72 points to 14,542.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 8.20 points to 1,555.80. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 19 points to 2,787.25. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.84%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.69%, French CAC 40 Index surged 0.69% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.91%. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average surging 1.89%, China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.11% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.66%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.14% and India's Sensex gained 0.96%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at JP Morgan downgraded General Electric Company GE from “overweight” to “neutral.” The target price for General Electric has been lowered from $24 to $22. GE shares fell 0.46% to $21.65 in pre-market trading. Breaking news

• Hasbro HAS reported upbeat first-quarter results. To read the full news, click here.
• Rentech RTK today announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a new share repurchase program for up to $25 million of the Company's outstanding common stock. To read the full news, click here.
• LivePerson LPSN today announced a distribution partnership with Vixia, Inc., a leading interactive digital marketing company based in Tokyo, to expand its Asia-Pacific presence and jointly promote LivePerson's online engagement solutions to the Japanese market. To read the full news, click here.
• Broadwind Energy BWEN today announced the sale of its idle tower plant in Brandon, SD. Proceeds from the sale, net of closing costs, totaled approximately $11.7 million. To read the full news, click here.