A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting quarterly results from Monsanto Co

MON

. Gold futures surged to a new high. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 68 points to 12,395.00, while those for the S&P 500 index rose 8.70 points to 1,335.40. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index gained 20.50 points to 2,343.75.

A Peek Into Global Markets

Positive sentiment ruled the European markets today. While STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.40%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.66%. Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.32%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.26% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 1.15%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.56% and India's Sensex dropped 0.54%.

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Analysts at Canaccord upgraded Barclays PLC

BCS

from “hold” to “buy.” BCS shares gained 2.24% to $19.15 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

Cisco Systems CSCO CEO John Chambers issued a memo to employees acknowledging that the company has flaws in "operational execution." To read the full news, click here.
Rival to online coupon site Groupon, LivingSocial is far from the household name and valuation of its competition. It raised $400 million in a round of financing recently, though, as it appears investors are licking their chops at social companies. To read the full news, click here.
Pluristem Therapeutics PSTI increases its testing of PLX Cells for the treatment of radiation exposure. To read the full news, click here.
Dish Networks DISH wins the Blockbuster BLOAQ BLOBQ bankruptcy auction for $320M, beating Carl Icahn's bid of $310.6M. To read the full news, click here.