A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts - Chesapeake Energy (NASDAQ:CHK), Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG)

Pre-open movers

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting weekly jobless claims data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 20 points to 13,224.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 2.70 points to 1,400.20. Nasdaq 100 futures surged 6.25 points to 2,733.75.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.84%, French CAC 40 index rose 1.32%. London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.52% and German DAX 30 index gained 1.13%. Asian markets ended mostly lower, with China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.07% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving down 0.23%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index dropped 0.28% and India's Sensex fell 0.81%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Bernstein upgraded Chesapeake Energy Corporation

CHK

from “underperform” to “outperform.” The target price for Chesapeake Energy has been raised from $17 to $21. Chesapeake Energy shares gained 1.31% to $16.96 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

Gildan Activewear Inc GIL today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100% of the common shares of Anvil Holdings Inc for a total purchase price of approximately U.S. $88 million. To read the full news, click here.
Main Street Capital Corporation MAIN announced today the expansion of total commitments under its three-year credit facility from $235.0 million to $277.5 million. The $42.5 million increase in total commitments included commitment increases by three lenders currently participating in the Credit Facility. To read the full news, click here.
Acacia Research Corporation ACTG announced today that its B.I. Systems LLC subsidiary has entered into a license agreement with International Business Machines Corporation regarding patents relating to computer-based visual data evaluation. To read the full news, click here.
Cigna Corp CI reported a 10% drop in its first-quarter earnings. To read the full news, click here.

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