A Peek Into The Market Before The Trading Starts

Pre-open movers US stock futures are slightly lower this morning, as investors are awaiting nonfarm payrolls. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 8 points to 14,752.00 and S&P 500 index futures fell 1.50 points to 1,590.80. Nasdaq 100 futures declined 0.75 points to 2,901.25. A Peek Into Global Markets European markets were mostly higher today. The STOXX Europe 600 Index rose 0.05%, London's FTSE 100 Index gained 0.22%, French CAC 40 Index climbed 0.04% and German DAX 30 index rose 0.16%. Asian markets ended mostly higher, with China's Shanghai Composite surging 1.44% and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 index rising 0.03%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index rose 0.10% and India's Sensex dipped 0.81%. Broker Recommendation Analysts at Jefferies upgraded Rowan Companies plc RDC from “hold” to “buy.” The target price for Rowan Companies has been raised from $38 to $39. Rowan stock closed at $32.74 yesterday. Breaking news

• Pepco Holdings POM posted a loss in the first quarter. To read the full news, click here.
• RADCOM RDCM today announced the initial phase of a multi-million dollar, multi-year deal with a Tier 1 Asian operator. To read the full news, click here.
• QIWI plc, a leading provider of next generation payment services in Russia and the CIS, today announced the pricing of its initial public offering of 12,500,000 Class B Shares in the form of American Depositary Shares (ADS) at a price of $17 per ADS. To read the full news, click here.
• Regeneron Pharmaceuticals REGN today announced that it has expanded its ophthalmology portfolio by acquiring full exclusive rights to two families of novel antibodies invented at Regeneron and previously included in Regeneron's antibody collaboration with Sanofi. To read the full news, click here.