A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

US stock futures are slightly lower this morning, as investors are awaiting weekly jobless claims data. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 6 points to 13,018.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 2.10 points to 1,406.20. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 2.50 points to 2,635.00.

European markets were higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.40%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.10%, French CAC 40 Index surged 0.25% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.93%. Asian markets ended mixed, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average rising 0.81%, China's Shanghai Composite falling 0.13% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropping 0.27%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell 0.09% and India's Sensex climbed 0.49%.

Analysts at RW Baird upgraded Starbucks

from “neutral” to “outperform.” The target price for Starbucks has been raised from $55 to $62. Starbucks shares gained 0.93% to $51.26 in pre-market trading.