A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are slightly higher this morning. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged 11 points to 12,961.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 0.90 points to 1,408.00. Nasdaq 100 futures gained 3.50 points to 2,673.50. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.26%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.05%, French CAC 40 Index surged 0.70% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.28%. Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average falling 0.27%, China's Shanghai Composite gaining 0.78% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropping 0.62%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.15% and India's Sensex climbed 0.22%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Jefferies upgraded Francesca's Holdings FRAN from “hold” to “buy.” The target price for Francesca's has been raised from $35 to $38. Francesca's shares dropped 2.80% to close at $25.30 yesterday. Breaking news

• Big Lots BIG posted a loss in the fiscal third-quarter and lifted its earnings forecast for the full year. To read the full news, click here.
• Radware RDWR announced a contract award from a national mobile communications carrier in the U.S. for its Attack Mitigation System (AMS) to protect against known and emerging network security threats. To read the full news, click here.
• Boeing BA projects the world's airlines should see reasonable liquidity and pricing for new-aircraft delivery financing in 2013 even as jet builders ramp up production to meet demand, the manufacturer announced here today in issuing its fifth annual finance market forecast. To read the full news, click here.
• Acadia Healthcare ACHC today announced an offering of 9,576,624 shares of its common stock. To read the full news, click here.