A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are mostly flat this morning, as investors are awaiting weekly jobless-claims data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1 point to 12,575.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 0.60 points to 1,323.00. Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 2 points to 2,555.50. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index declined 0.82%, French CAC 40 index fell 0.89%. London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 1.10% and German DAX 30 index declined 0.70%. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.86%, China's Shanghai Composite rising 1.39% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.15%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.31% and India's Sensex gained 0.27%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Citigroup upgraded Legg Mason Inc LM from “neutral” to “buy.” The target price for Legg Mason has been raised from $27.50 to $32.50. Legg Mason shares gained 1.66% to $24.45 in after-hours trading. Breaking news

• MetroCorp Bancshares MCBI announced that it has priced a registered public offering of 4,445,000 shares of its common stock at $9.00 per share. To read the full news, click here.
• Acacia Research Corporation ACTG announced today that its AdjustaCam LLC subsidiary has entered into a settlement and license agreement with Auditek Corporation. To read the full news, click here.
• Human Genome Sciences Inc HGSI announced today that its Board of Directors has adopted a Stockholder Rights Plan and declared a dividend of one share purchase right for each share of HGS's common stock held of record at the close of business on May 29, 2012. To read the full news, click here.
• NovaBay Pharmaceuticals Inc NBY today announced that it has enrolled the first patients in its global Phase 2b clinical study. The study (named BAYnovationTM) will evaluate the Company's lead compound, NVC-422, for treating adenoviral conjunctivitis, a highly contagious form of "pink eye." To read the full news, click here.