A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are higher this morning, ahead of consumer spending and new home sales data. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 48 points to 12,151.00 and futures on the S&P 500 stock index rose 6.10 points to 1,255.20. Nasdaq 100 futures surged 8.50 points to 2,269.25. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index has gained 0.95%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 1%, German DAX 30 index rose 0.36% and France CAC 40 index surged 1.29%. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 1.20% and China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.85%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 1.3654% and India's Sensex dipped 0.47%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Susquehanna upgraded Talisman Energy Inc TLM from “neutral” to “positive.” The target price for Talisman Energy is set to $16. Talisman Energy shares dropped 0.66% to $12.05 in after-hours trading. Breaking news

• Black Hills Corp. BKH utility subsidiary Black Hills Energy – Colorado Electric today announced that the Colorado Public Utilities Commission issued an order approving a base rate increase resulting in a $10.49 million, or 4.91 percent, increase in annual utility revenues with remaining costs, which have yet to be incurred, being recouped through Black Hills Energy's normal Energy Cost Adjustment and Transmission Cost Adjustment filings. To read the full news, click here.
• Fuel Tech, Inc. FTEK, a world leader in advanced engineering solutions for combustion and emissions control systems for utility and industrial applications, today announced receipt of multiple air pollution control orders totaling $10.5 million. To read the full news, click here.
• Qualcomm Incorporated QCOM today announced that the U.S. Federal Communications Commission has approved the sale of its Lower 700 MHz D and E Block (Channel 55 and 56) unpaired U.S. spectrum licenses to AT&T T.To read the full news, click here.
• Marina Biotech, Inc. MRNA announced today that it has entered into a $5 million private placement with Socius CG II, Ltd, a Bermuda-based subsidiary of Socius Capital Group, LLC, and that it filed an amendment to its certificate of incorporation to effect a 1-for-10 reverse split of its common stock as of 5:00 p.m. EST on December 22, 2011. To read the full news, click here.