A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are higher this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 14 points to 14,997.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 1.10 points to 1,621.70. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 3.75 points to 2,950.25. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.40%, London's FTSE 100 index gained 0.28%, French CAC 40 Index gained 0.75% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.67%. Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average jumping 0.74%, China's Shanghai Composite surging 0.48% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index gaining 1.08%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.86% and India's Sensex gained 0.51%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at ISI Group upgraded Lowe's Companies LOW from “neutral” to “buy.” The target price for Lowe's has been raised from $40 to $46. Lowe's stock closed at $40.29 yesterday. Breaking news

• Enbridge ENB and Enbridge Energy Partners, LP EEP today announced that they have entered into an agreement whereby Enbridge will invest $1.2 billion in preferred units issued by EEP, and which is expected to close later today. To read the full news, click here.
• Accenture ACN has signed an eight-year application outsourcing agreement with Astellas Pharma. To read the full news, click here.
• EA SPORTS™, a division of Electronic Arts EA and the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) have announced an extension of their existing licensing agreement until December 31, 2022. To read the full news, click here.
• Trulia TRLA announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Market Leader LEDR for approximately $355 million, or an implied price of $11.33 per share (based on Trulia's closing share price on Tuesday, May 7, 2013). To read the full news, click here.