A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts - Astronics (NASDAQ:ATRO), Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG)

Pre-open movers

US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting economic data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 33 points to 13,034.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 2.90 points to 1,383.40. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 8.25 points to 2,644.00.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mixed today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.26%, French CAC 40 index rose 0.12%. London's FTSE 100 Index moved down 0.40% and German DAX 30 index gained 0.55%. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.69%, China's Shanghai Composite dropping 0.30% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.53%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 1.08% and India's Sensex jumped 0.54%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at JPMorgan downgraded Dendreon

DNDN

from “overweight” to “neutral.” The target price for Dendreon has been lowered from $15 to $6. Dendreon shares dropped 17.48% to $5.10 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

Fuel Tech FTEK today announced receipt of multiple air pollution control orders totaling $4.5 million. To read the full news, click here.
Astronics ATRO today announced that it has acquired privately-held Max-Viz Inc, a market-leading developer and designer of Enhanced Vision Systems (EVS) for fixed and rotary wing aircraft through both OEM and aftermarket channels in the general aviation, commercial and military aerospace markets for $10 million in cash. To read the full news, click here.
Acacia Research ACTG announced today that its Program Rewards Solutions LLC subsidiary entered into a settlement agreement with Citigroup Inc. To read the full news, click here.
NuPathe PATH today announced that the company's New Drug Application (NDA) resubmission for its migraine patch (NP101) has been accepted for filing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). To read the full news, click here.

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