A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are mixed this morning. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 13 points to 12,412.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index fell 0.40 points to 1,311.80. Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 5.50 points to 2,350.00. A Peek Into Global Markets Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.2458%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.48% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.54%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.0608% and India's Sensex gained 0.12%. European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index has dipped 0.87%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.60%, German DAX 30 index fell 0.61% and France CAC 40 index fell 1.01%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Goldman Sachs upgraded Toll Brothers Inc TOL from “neutral” to “buy.” The target price for Toll Brothers has been raised from $20 to $25. Toll Brothers shares fell 0.14% to close at $20.75 yesterday. Breaking news

• International banks have initiated plans to cut expenses broadly, and employees of two major banks, UBS UBS and Credit Suisse CS, appear to be on the chopping block. Two Swiss newspapers reported Thursday that UBS is planning to cut 5,000 jobs, while Credit Suisse will cut 1,000. To read the full news, click here.
• ConocoPhillips' COP board of directors has approved pursuing the separation of the company's Refining & Marketing and Exploration & Production businesses into two stand-alone, publicly traded corporations via a tax-free spin of the refining and marketing business to ConocoPhillips shareholders. To read the full news, click here.
• Seattle Genetics, Inc. SGEN announced that NASDAQ has halted trading of the company's common stock. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration's Oncologic Drugs Advisory Committee is meeting today to discuss the company's Biologics License Applications for ADCETRIS. To read the full news, click here.
• J.P. Morgan Chase & Co JPM reported a 13% rise in its second-quarter net income. To read the full news, click here.