A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

US stock futures are mostly flat this morning, as investors are awaiting earnings from Caterpillar

. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 3 points to 13,815.00 and S&P 500 index futures rose 0.70 points to 1,496.40. Nasdaq 100 futures climbed 0.50 points to 2,728.50.

European markets were mostly lower today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index fell 0.07%, London's FTSE 100 Index dropped 0.01%, German DAX 30 Index fell 0.07% and French CAC 40 Index rose 0.01%. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with Japan's Nikkei Stock Average falling 0.94%, China's Shanghai Composite surging 2.41% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index gaining 0.52%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index gained 0.39% and India's Sensex dropped 0.18 points.

Analysts at RW Baird downgraded Apple

from “outperform” to “neutral.” The target price for Apple has been lowered from $570 to $465. Apple shares gained 0.14% to $440.50 in pre-market trading.