A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are slightly higher this morning, as investors are awaiting weekly jobless-claims data. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 27 points to 12,108.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index rose 3.60 points to 1,248.10. Nasdaq 100 futures surged 4.75 points to 2,264.25. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.08%, London's FTSE 100 index rose 0.16%, German DAX 30 index rose 0.34% and France CAC 40 index surged 0.27%. Asian markets ended mostly lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.3089%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index declining 0.45% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.16%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.6520% and India's Sensex dropped 1.17%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Raymond James downgraded Edenor SA EDN from “outperform” to “market perform.” Edenor's stock closed at $5.76 yesterday. Breaking news

• Elbit Systems Ltd. ESLT announced today, further to its announcement dated April 8, 2011 regarding the filing of a lawsuit against the Government of Georgia, that the Company and Georgia have signed settlement agreements for settling all claims and disputes. To read the full news, click here.
• Winn-Dixie Stores WINN is voluntarily recalling Winn-Dixie Brand Italian Green Beans sold in the 14.5 oz can with a UPC code of 2114021236 and a best by date of Sept. 2014, due to a potential for in-shell peanuts mixed with the green beans. To read the full news, click here.
• Acacia Research Corporation ACTG announced today that a subsidiary has acquired circuit and packaging patents from a major technology company. To read the full news, click here.
• Rentrak Corporation RENT today announced a long-term contract expansion with Raycom TV for Rentrak's StationView Essentials local market census-based ratings service across 17 of the largest Raycom television markets. To read the full news, click here.