A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are lower this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 70 points to 12,889.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 7.80 points to 1,358.00. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 18.25 points to 2,618.25. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index declined 0.79%, French CAC 40 index fell 1.95%. London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.33% and German DAX 30 index dropped 1.03%. Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.69%, China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.12% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.33%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 0.25% and India's Sensex dropped 2.33%. Broker Recommendation Needham upgraded Electronic Arts Inc EA from “hold” to “buy.” The target price for Electronic Arts is set to $22. EA shares dropped 0.79% to $15.01 in pre-market trading. Breaking news

• Savient Pharmaceuticals Inc SVNT today announced that the Company has entered into definitive agreements with certain holders of its currently outstanding 4.75% convertible senior notes due 2018. To read the full news, click here.
• The Crosstex Energy companies, Crosstex Energy LP XTEX and Crosstex Energy Inc XTXI today announced the Partnership has signed a definitive agreement to acquire privately held Clearfield Energy Inc for approximately $210 million in cash at closing subject to certain adjustments. To read the full news, click here.
• Kratos Defense & Security Solutions Inc KTOS today announced the award of a five year, $50 million contract option under the Department of Defense at the White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico Theoretical Studies and Engineering Research multiple award contract. To read the full news, click here.
• FactSet Research Systems Inc FDS today announced that its Board of Directors approved a 15% increase in the regular quarterly dividend from $0.27 per share to $0.31 per share. To read the full news, click here.