A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are waiting weekly jobless claims and sales data from retailers. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 35 points to 12,972.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 3.50 points to 1,367.90. Nasdaq 100 futures surged 11 points to 2,634.00.

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.66%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.68%, French CAC 40 index rose 0.79% and German DAX 30 index climbed 0.72%. Asian markets ended lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average declining 0.16%, China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.10% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.96%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.35% and India's Sensex declined 0.95%.

Analysts at FBR Capital downgraded Aircastle Limited

from “outperform” to “market perform.” The target price for Aircastle is set to $15. Aircastle shares gained 0.67% to close at $13.61 yesterday.