A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are higher this morning, as investors are awaiting retail sales data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 24 points to 13,161.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 2.40 points to 1,405.00. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 4 points to 2,732.00. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index gained 0.43%, French CAC 40 index rose 0.28%. London's FTSE 100 Index moved up 0.48% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.82%. Asian markets ended higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gaining 0.50%, China's Shanghai Composite rising 0.30% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 moving up 0.18%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index surged 1.05% and India's Sensex gained 0.56%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Citigroup downgraded Groupon GRPN from “buy” to “neutral.” The target price for Groupon has been lowered from $19 to $9. Groupon shares dropped 18.68% to $6.14 in pre-market trading. Breaking news

• Towers Watson and Co TW posted a better-than-expected fourth-quarter profit. However, the company issued a weak Q1 forecast. To read the full news, click here.
• The U.S. Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense has awarded Accenture Federal Services a two-year contract to identify ways that will improve forecasting techniques throughout the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD). To read the full news, click here.
• Arrowhead Research ARWR today announced that it entered into an agreement with Merck, through a subsidiary, to undertake an evaluation of a novel proprietary therapeutic monoclonal antibody candidate derived from Arrowhead's human-derived peptide targeting and discovery program. To read the full news, click here.
• CONMED CNMD and Viking Systems VKNG today announced that the companies have entered into a definitive agreement providing for CONMED to acquire Viking for $0.27 per share in cash. To read the full news, click here.