A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are lower this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 17 points to 14,363.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 2.60 points to 1,549.60. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 5.25 points to 2,801.50. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were mostly lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index declined 0.45%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.01%, French CAC 40 Index fell 0.45% and German DAX 30 index dropped 0.33%. Asian markets ended mostly lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.53%, China's Shanghai Composite falling 0.35% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gaining 0.72%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index declined 1.13 points and India's Sensex dropped 0.19%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at UBS upgraded Citigroup C from “neutral” to “buy.” The target price for Citigroup has been raised from $43 to $62. Citigroup shares gained 0.36% to $46.85 in pre-market trading. Breaking news

• Level 3 Communications. LVLT today announced that Grupo La Caridad, the leading poultry producer and poultry genetics research company in Venezuela, has expanded its Level 3 Internet Protocol Virtual Private Network (IP VPN) solution to its subsidiary, Avicola la Rosita, headquartered in Maracaibo. To read the full news, click here.
• ZIOPHARM Oncology ZIOP today announced the initiation of a randomized, open label Phase 2 clinical study of Ad-RTS IL-12 in combination with palifosfamide to treat patients with non-resectable recurrent or metastatic breast cancer. To read the full news, click here.
• STMicroelectronics STM announced today that Didier Lamouche, Chief Operating Officer, whose operational role was suspended when he took the assignment as President and Chief Executive Officer at ST-Ericsson in December 2011, has decided to resign from the company effective March 31, 2013 to pursue other opportunities. To read the full news, click here.
• First Solar FSLR joined Dii as a new shareholder in March 2013. The company was previously a Dii associated partner. To read the full news, click here.