US Stock Futures Surge Ahead Of Economic Data

Pre-open movers US stock futures traded higher in early pre-market trade. Data on consumer spending for February will be released at 8:30 a.m. ET, while the pending home sales index for February will be released at 10:00 a.m. ET. The Dallas Fed general business activity index for March will be released at 10:30 a.m. ET, while farm-prices data for March will be released at 3:00 p.m. ET. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 98.50 points to 17,724.50, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose 10.15 points to 2,062.65. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index climbed 29.45 points to 4,355.20. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today, with the Spanish Ibex Index rising 0.81%, STOXX Europe 600 Index rising 0.85% and German DAX 30 index gaining 1.44%. French CAC 40 Index climbed 1.07% and London's FTSE 100 Index rose 0.35%. In Asian markets, Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rose 0.65%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index climbed 1.51%, China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 2.59% and India's BSE Sensex gained 1.88%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Baird upgraded Nike, Inc. NKE from Neutral to Outperform. The price target for Nike has been raised from $102 to $115. Nike shares closed at $99.88 on Friday. Breaking news

• FUJIFILM Holdings FUJIF and Cellular Dynamics International ICEL today announced that the two companies have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Fujifilm will acquire CDI via an all-cash tender offer to be followed by a second step merger. To read the full news, click here.
• Synageva BioPharma Corp. GEVA announced today the submission to the Comisión Federal para la Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios (Cofepris) in Mexico for Kanuma as a treatment for patients with lysosomal acid lipase deficiency (LAL Deficiency), a rare genetic disease with significant morbidity and early mortality. To read the full news, click here.
• Spectrum Pharmaceuticals SPPI today announced results of a clinical study of the stability of Captisol-enabled Melphalan versus the currently marketed, propylene glycol-containing melphalan formulation entitled, Solution Stability of Captisol-enabled Melphalan vs Marketed Melphalan Products. To read the full news, click here.
• GNC Holdings, Inc. GNC today announced that it has reached an agreement with the New York Attorney General regarding the Company's Herbal Plus® products. To read the full news, click here.