A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts - Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX), Acacia Research (NASDAQ:ACTG)

Pre-open movers

US stock futures are lower this morning, as investors are awaiting consumer spending data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 52 points to 13,362.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 5.40 points to 1,435.70. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 8.50 points to 2,806.00.

A Peek Into Global Markets

European markets were mostly lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.44%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.02%, French CAC 40 Index dropped 0.93% and German DAX 30 index fell 0.11%. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average dropping 0.89%, China's Shanghai Composite surging 1.45% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 rising 0.08%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.38% and India's Sensex surged 0.99%.

Broker Recommendation

Analysts at Janney Capital downgraded McDonald's

MCD

from “buy” to “neutral.” The target price for McDonald's is set to $100. McDonald's shares dropped 1.15% to $92.20 in pre-market trading.

Breaking news

Dendreon DNDN today announced the first patient enrollment and initiation of treatment for the sipuleucel-T European Union (EU) open-label study. To read the full news, click here.
Acacia Research ACTG announced today that its Body Science LLC subsidiary has entered into a settlement agreement with Boston Scientific BSX. To read the full news, click here.
Tata Starbucks Limited, the 50/50 joint venture between Starbucks Coffee Company SBUX and Tata Global Beverages Limited, today confirmed that the first store in India will open in the Horniman Circle area of Mumbai by the end of October 2012. To read the full news, click here.
Patterson-UTI Energy PTEN today announced that the Company has entered into a $600 million, five-year credit agreement with a group of financial institutions led by Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. To read the full news, click here.

Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs