A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers
US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting nonfarm payrolls for February. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 24 points to 12,263.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index gained 1.50 points to 1,331.20. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 1.25 points to 2,373.00.

A Peek Into Global Markets

Positive sentiment ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has advanced 0.34%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.41%.

Asian markets ended in the positive territory, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 1.02%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 1.14% and China's Shanghai Composite rising 1.36%.

Broker Recommendation
Analysts at BofA/Merrill downgraded Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS from "buy" to "neutral." The target price for GS has been lowered from $182 to $174.

Goldman Sachs' shares gained 0.10% to $164.65 in after-hours trading.

Breaking news

• Bronco Drilling Company, Inc., BRNC, announced today financial and operational results for the three months and twelve months ended December 31, 2010. To read the full news, click here.



• ZST Digital Networks, Inc. ZSTN, today announced its financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended December 31, 2010. To read the full news, click here.



• Genesco Inc. GCO today reported earnings from continuing operations of $31.4 million, or $1.34 per diluted share for the fourth quarter ended January 29, 2011, compared to earnings from continuing operations of $25.8 million, or $1.08 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter ended January 30, 2010. To read the full news, click here.



• Camelot Information Systems Inc CIS reported its Q4 adjusted EPS at $0.24, beating the consensus of $0.22. To read the full news, click here.

Read more from Benzinga's Markets.