A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

US stock futures are slightly higher this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 11 points to 13,171.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 0.50 points to 1,397.30. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 6 points to 2,726.25.

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.37%, London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.29%, French CAC 40 index rose 0.36% and German DAX 30 index gained 0.17%. Asian markets ended mostly lower, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.43%, China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.35% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 falling 0.26%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index declined 0.33% and India's Sensex rose 0.02%.

Analysts at Citigroup upgraded Celanese Corporation

from “neutral” to “buy.” The target price for Celanese has been raised from $51 to $56. Celanese shares gained 1.62% to close at $48.40 yesterday.