A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are lower this morning. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 17 points to 12,211.00 and S&P 500 index futures dropped 1.50 points to 1,308.70. Futures on the Nasdaq 100 declined 1.25 points to 2,299.50. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.18%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.37%. Most Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.65%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.67% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.26%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.02%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Citigroup downgraded Google Inc GOOG from “buy” to “hold.” The target price for GOOG has been lowered from $750 to $650. GOOG shares dropped 5.64% to $545.90 in pre-market trading. Breaking news

• Merck MRK, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, and Johnson & Johnson JNJ and its subsidiary Centocor Ortho Biotech Inc., today announced that the companies have reached agreement to amend the distribution rights to REMICADE and SIMPONI, which treat chronic inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. To read the full news, click here.
• Mattel Inc MAT reported its Q1 EPS at $0.05, versus the consensus of $0.05. To read the full news, click here.
• IAMGOLD Corporation IAG announced today that it has reached an agreement to sell its 18.9% interest in the Tarkwa and Damang gold mines in Ghana, West Africa to Gold Fields Limited for $667 million. To read the full news, click here.
• Bank of America Corp BAC reported its Q1 EPS at $0.17. To read the full news, click here.

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