US Stock Futures Edge Higher Ahead Of McDonald's Earnings

Pre-open movers US stock futures gained in early pre-market trade, ahead of earnings from McDonald's MCD and Lockheed Martin LMT. The FHFA house price index for February will be released at 9:00 a.m. ET, while existing home sales data for March and the Richmond Fed manufacturing index for April will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 10 points to 16,381.00, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures gained 0.60 points to 1,865.00. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index rose 6.75 points to 3,558.00. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.96%, London's FTSE 100 index gaining 1.01% and STOXX Europe 600 Index surging 1.09%. German DAX 30 index climbed 1.49% and French CAC 40 Index gained 0.83%. Asian markets ended mostly lower today. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average fell 0.85%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.13%, China's Shanghai Composite surged 0.34% and India's BSE Sensex fell 0.03%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Credit Suisse upgraded The NASDAQ OMX Group NDAQ from “neutral” to “outperform.” The target price for NASDAQ OMX Group has been raised from $40 to $42. NASDAQ OMX Group's shares closed at $35.48 yesterday. Breaking news

• Eli Lilly and Company LLY today announced an agreement to acquire Novartis Animal Health NVS for approximately $5.4 billion in an all-cash transaction that will strengthen and diversify Lilly's own animal health business, Elanco. To read the full news, click here.
• United Technologies UTX reported better-than-expected first-quarter profit. United Technologies' quarterly net profit dropped 4% to $1.2 billion, or $1.32 per share. To read the full news, click here.
• Novartis NVS announced today that it has reached a definitive agreement with GlaxoSmithKline plc GSK to exchange certain assets, building global leadership in key segments and focusing the company's portfolio. To read the full news, click here.
• Salix Pharmaceuticals SLXP and Progenics Pharmaceuticals PGNX announced today that the submission to the European Medicines Agency (EMA) of RELISTOR®(methylnaltrexone bromide) Subcutaneous Injection for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC) in adult patients with chronic non-cancer pain, has been accepted for review. To read the full news, click here.