A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures gained after an unanticipated recovery in German business sentiment. Investors are also awaiting data on durable goods and new-home sales today. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 38 points to 10,644 and S&P 500 futures added 5.10 points to 1,126. Nasdaq 100 futures rose 10.75 points to 1,992. The blue-chip Dow index fell 0.7% yesterday. A Peek Into Global Markets Negative sentiments ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has lost 0.29%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.11%. Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average losing 0.99%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.61% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.11%. Broker Recommendation Piper Jaffray upgraded shares of Kenexa Corporation KNXA to Overweight, and took the price target to $29 from $13, citing strong channel checks. In the research note, Piper Jaffray writes, "Our checks, conducted in the past two weeks, indicate KNXA sees a strengthening of trends with multiple big name-brand companies "on the one-yard line" for signing large, multi-element transactions. Other contacts in the Kenexa ecosystem echoed the same sense of "more high-level discussions for full-suite deals" in recent months. We expect this will drive accelerating revenue growth in 2H:10 and cause the valuation gap to narrow." Shares of Kenexa Corporation lost 11 cents yesterday to close at $15.72. Breaking news

• A European Medicines Agency committee has given pessimistic views on Merck KGaA MKGAY to market Cladribine tablets as a treatment for relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis, the company said. According to Merck, the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use believes that the benefits of the drug are less than the risks involved. To read the full news, click here.
• CSG Systems International Inc CSGS has signed an agreement to purchase British rival Intec Telecom Systems Plc for 236.7 million pounds ($370.9 million). To read the full news, click here.
• Vale VALE plans to spin out its fertilizer division in an initial public offering, writes Reuters. To read the full news, click here.
• KB Home KBH reported its Q3 loss at $1.4 million, or $0.02 per share, as compared to a loss of $66 million, or $0.87 per share, in the year-ago period. However, the analysts expected the company to post a loss of $0.15 per share. To read the full news, click here.

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